


Enter the Fein

by ToxicParalysis



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alien Biology, Alien Planet, Aliens, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Angst, Astronauts, Bats, Biting, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Mpreg, Love Triangles, M/M, Marking, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mating Rituals, Mind Control, Mind Manipulation, Near Death Experiences, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Outer Space, Ownership, Pack Bonding, Peril, Possessive Behavior, Power Dynamics, Power Exchange, Quadrant Confusion, Quadrant Vacillation, Scars, Scent Kink, Scent Marking, Scenting, Scents & Smells, Sensation Play, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Slavery, Sexual Violence, Sharing Body Heat, Slow Burn, Tentabulges (Homestuck), Trust, Trust Issues, Violence, Xenophilia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:13:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 132,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24697369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToxicParalysis/pseuds/ToxicParalysis
Summary: Crash-landed on an alien planet where it seems everything is toxic to humans, John Egbert must find a way to adapt and survive. He will soon find out that though his ship appears to be devoid of all human lifeforms, he is very much not alone.
Relationships: Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, John Egbert/Dave Strider, John Egbert/Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, John Egbert/Karkat Vantas
Comments: 38
Kudos: 143





	1. Reboot

John awoke with a start, cold and shivering.

He gasped for air, fog blurring his vision, ears ringing as if he were shell-shocked. He reached out, wiping with gloved palms at the thick glass, trying to clear enough of the condensation away that he could make out what was before him. He was dripping wet within his bodysuit, no doubt due to the cold contrasting with his body-heat while trapped inside the once air-tight chamber, though now it's stability was obviously compromised. There was a large gash in the metal above him, green-tinged water dripping down and pooling around his boots and gathering at his feet. He reigned in his breathing, hearing returning and beginning to pick up on small sounds. Beeping, chimes here and there, then a female voice, mechanical and familiar.

_Please remain calm. Oxygen levels compromised._

John coughed and blinked to clear his vision, hands moving around the interior of the podspace, fumbling through the dimly lit life-canister in search of an oxygen mask. He found one after a few moments, shoving the mask over his mouth and nose and flicking the filter settings to operational. He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes and resting back against the padding of the seat he was securely fastened into. He shook his head, trying to clear the ringing still lingering in his ears, then focused on the announcement echoing in the main room outside of the canister that held him still.

_Please remain calm, bay doors compromised. All personnel proceed with evacuation protocol. Please remain calm. Oxygen saturation at 67%. Regulatory masks required for further operations. Proceed to the nearest exit once masks are in place, seek out officers for further instruction upon evacuation. Please remain calm, bay doors compromised. All personnel proceed-_

John shifted his arms, searching for the release catch across his chest and waist, finally looping his long fingers through the confines and releasing both belts at once. The clasps made a sharp sound as they came free and allowed him to slump forward, John coughing violently into the mask until his breathing evened out once more. How long had he breathed in the tainted air? What impurities had managed to sink into the soft wet tissue of his lungs before he'd regained consciousness. He grabbed for his goggles, sliding them down over his eyes and pressing the scanner along the right-side temple, the display focus popping up in a wave of red and blue. The sights took a moment to clear his vision before rebooting, and then finally he could see clearly again. The fog before him was dotted with neon blue sensors, reading, evaluating, filing away data in memorybanks for later. He reached out, searching across the edge of the glass until finally the pod surface cracked and shifted upwards and out, opening the life-canister enough that John could climb forward and squeeze through the opening. Something was blocking the door from opening all the way. A beam from the fractured hull? No it was another life-canister, coated in something dark, slimy. The pod was covered in condensation and...moss? Some strange kind of moss he didn't recognize. His scanner was quickly recording data, his eyes flicking up towards the light nearby pooling in from the ceiling where the top of the room had been punctured and foreign lifeforms had breached the interior cabin. He felt dizzy, coughing again to try and clear the microbes from his lungs, and then he made his way towards the first set of doors to his right, away from the too bright light beaming down from outside the chamber.

His steps were shaky, heavy and dizzying, but he managed to work his way away from the moss covering the pod where he'd awoken and towards the nearest wall, coughing at the sight of the spores in the air. The other pods nearby were empty. Some broken. But no bodies that he could make out, that was reassuring at least. They'd obviously crashed, somewhere unknown judging from the way his goggles couldn't seem to focus on anything around his pod too long without beginning to add new data upon inspection, green and yellow text popping up now and then under plantlife that he glanced across. He turned back towards the frame of the doors nearby, searching for the hand-panel to open access to the corridor beyond. The hand-panel was...covered in some sort of slime. The same slime that had been dripping into his life-canister when he'd awoken. It looked like it belonged on a set from Ghostbusters, not a federation ship. He swallowed, licking his lips. Chapped, also covered in some weird tasting residue. Great. He'd wash his face as soon as he got somewhere airtight and could take his mask off. He wondered fleetingly how many days it took for this unspecified moss to grow like this...everywhere. How long had there been an oxygen leak? How long had he been asleep? His hand hovered over the panel a few inches, and he spoke his name into the intercom.

"Biome Researcher Johnathan Egbert, requesting access to medical bay."

The door-reader was quiet, not validating the words he'd spoken. He frowned, glancing around for a moment before deciding to tug off his glove, and then reached out again, hand hovering over the slime between his skin and the reading panel. Fuck it, he was probably already infected by whatever he'd been breathing in anyway. And he was heading straight to medical. He already knew this was going to feel gross. He hissed, clearly displeased as he slapped his hand unceremoniously down upon the thick slime, groaning and repeating his words again, a bit more forceful this time. The hand-panel chirped and whirred before the seal of the double doors creaked loudly then opened with a burst of green spores and splitting moss, John taking a step back for a moment then forward again when the doors opened fully to allow him inside. He took a few steps into the dim hallway, the doors sealing behind him, his boots thudding loudly along the empty corridor as he continued forward. He'd walked this path a hundred times, but for some reason now it seemed eerie, haunted. He'd never seen it so empty. Where was everyone? He steadied himself after a small coughing fit, then checked the oxygen levels in his sights and slid the breathing mask down his chin to settle around his throat. He spoke into the air again, accessing the voice recognition system hardwired into the ship's mainframe.

"Rose, what is the status of the ship's location and damage upon impact?"

The hallway was silent, the lights flickering dimly, though bright enough John could see the dust settling in the air as he continued to step forward through the chamber.

"Rose! Status report! What is the ship's current location?"

Nothing. He frowned, glancing down at the slime across his right palm with a little wrinkle of his nose. It smelled old and musty in here, and the sharp tang of the slime was making him sick. He wanted out of this suit, he wanted fresh water, a shower, and meds to kill his splitting headache and ward off whatever foreign microbodies had soaked into his skin and gotten into his lungs. And his eyes. As if his eyesight wasn't bad enough already. He exhaled roughly, coughing once, twice, before heading purposefully down the hall and forking left to the med-bay. He stopped short. There wasn't a hallway there - only rock to greet him. A sealed-off shaft of rock, crumbling with sediment his goggles didn't recognize, stirring in the air with his movement as he backed away from the impasse and turned again, trying the fork to the right. The damage to the ship...surely it wasn't catastrophic. Surely...there were others here somewhere. He couldn't have been the only one left. The only one...who'd survived? He picked up the pace, going the long way around the food bay and lounge room of the nearest docks full circle to the medical bay beyond. When he reached the door and pressed his slimy digits against the hand-panel they took a moment to read his fingerprint signature before opening up with a whir and happy chirps.

_Welcome, Biome Researcher John Egbert. Access to Medical Bay Three granted. Med Bay Staff will be with you shortly. Please, have a seat while you wait. Thank you for your service._

John breathed a sign of relief, stepping into the brightly lit chamber and glancing around. The air in here held a medicinal scent, like rubbing alcohol and stainless steel. He began pulling off his other glove and shrugging out of his jacket, then went to his collar, tugging off layers of protective fabrics, begin the process of disassembling his bodysuit one layer at a time. He piled the clothes on the floor beside the nearest chair and glancing up towards the intercom in the center of the room, hanging from the domed ceiling. He tossed his breathing mask and goggles down atop of the pile, running his clean hand through his damp hair. He'd pick up sanitized equipment after the exam, before continuing to explore the shipwreck. Clearing his throat after a short cough, he addressed the intercom as he had tried to before, when she'd been unresponsive.

"There you are Rose, I was worried you weren't with me."

There was a small pause after John spoke before the computer voice chimed back in greeting,

_I am always with you, John. I am here to assist all federally regulated personnel while aboard the Federation Starship Mondrogosa._

John chuckled softly, stepping over to the room division-bar nearby and stepping past the small waist-high door into the room beyond. He found the sink and washed his hands thoroughly, then stepped into the small shower and shrugged off his undershorts before reaching for the water and groaning with relief as warm water began raining down from above. Fuck yes, this would do nicely. He showered quickly but thoroughly, watching the slime-tinged soap bubbles circling the drain before shutting off the water valve. He stepped out, grabbing a clean towel and wrapping it around his waist while he walked from the shower to the lockers nearby, tugging out a fresh set of patient attire - white lounge pants and a white shirt. It was clean, and that's all he cared about. He managed to find fresh socks too, and tugged on a pair of shoes that were almost his size, probably left behind by one of the doctors after shift-end. He returned to the main room, inspecting his right hand and under his nail-bed, then went to the mirror to check on his eyes, his mouth. He frowned a little, his eyes were ringed with green around his usually bright-blue irises. That couldn't be good.

"Rose."

_Yes, John._

"I don't think anyone is coming. Can you walk me through what I need to do to treat myself?"

The computer chirped softly while calculating a response, soft beeping echoing from above.

_Unable to locate any medical staff in the nearby vicinity. Request to override privileges of medical staff to obtain treatment granted. Apologies for the delay, John Egbert. You may proceed to the purification chamber._

A second set of doors opened to the right of the main waiting room, allowing John into the area where medical staff tended to the injured while aboard the starship. John stepped inside and looked around, finding one of the instruments he knew the nurses tended to use to diagnose various ailments, and then stepped further into the room towards the full-body glass chamber surrounded by computer monitors.

"Alright Rose, I'm here. What do you want me to do first?"

_Begin by simply scanning your retina and pulse points. First the throat, then the wrist. If necessary, access to further arteries may be requested by personel. Your cooperation is appreciated._

"Might as well for good measure."

He followed her instructions, clasping the hand-scanner and bringing it across both eyes, then down his throat on both sides to get a good reading. Then he held the device to his left wrist, and then finally tugged at the waistband of his pants and shoved the device down along his thigh before bringing it up to his eyes again so he could read the display across the back of the scanner. The device read the results over the next few moments then chimed softly and lit up with a few indicators before speaking in a soft, soothing voice.

_Contamination detected. Alien antibodies must be eradicated from internal organs and blood vessels immediately to avoid further complications. Please step inside the purification chamber to undergo full system analysis and treatment._

John huffed softly, then set the scanner down and eyed the glass chamber warily. He hated those things, always made him feel claustrophobic. Then again, so did his life-canister, and who knew how long he'd been in there until he'd finally regained consciousness.

"I should just get it over with, then go find whoever else is awake."

He steeled himself then stepped into the chamber, soles of his shoes tapping lightly against the tile along the bottom, before he pulled the glass door shut and centered himself in the middle of the giant scanner. A green light moved 360 degrees around his body, lighting up with yellow lights along his eyes, his cheeks, his throat, and centered over his chest. Another light indicator, orange, hovered over his hand. The hand he'd planted in the slime before.

_John Egbert. Please stand still and await decontamination of foreign microbes. Please remember to breathe evenly while the procedure commences with internal purifications. Once all symptoms read green and vitals have stabilized, the chamber will open. You may feel nauseous, and experience vertigo, after these proceedings. To confirm treatment of alien contamination - verbal recognition and authorization is required. Do you consent to medical purification? Please state your name for the record._

John inhaled softly, readying himself for the stinging pain of the purification to come. He was a biome researcher, he'd done this before. This wasn't the first time he'd encountered alien plantlife, but the proceedure sucked just as much every time.

"I hereby grant my consent to medical personnel, please continue with recommended treatment. Johnathan Egbert, confirmation of request to purify alien contamination. You have my full understanding and express consent."

_Express consent accepted, procedure will begin in ten seconds. Recorded date for purification procedure request - John Egbert, Biome Researcher S Class, Starship Mondrogosa - Stardate 0900-572-983-799 - Please stand still and remember to continue to breathe evenly while chamber fills with purifying agent. You may experience some dizziness until chamber clears-_

"Wait..."

John glanced up towards the top of the canister as green mist began expanding down through the air, saturating the oxygen with aerosol medicines meant to drive out any foreign contaminants and heal any damage to healthy tissue. He coughed a few times, then swallowed and glanced around the chamber, trying to remember to breathe normally and allow his lungs to absorb the medicine they needed. Surely he hadn't heard the date right. Nine-hundred...billion? 0900-572-983-799? That was...there was no way that could be the stardate. There was no fucking way. He hissed softly as the agent descended upon him, burning his eyes and throat as it healed away the tint of green that had been there before. The procedure took what felt like an eternity to complete, but as soon as the chamber cleared and the door opened again John was out in a heartbeat - searching through the nearby cabinets until he found what he had been looking for. Spectacles, with a built in retinal scanner. Like his goggles, only more functional for everyday use. He pushed the small, rounded, crescent-shaped device up the bridge of his nose and fixed the hologram lenses before his eyes, touching the scanner at his temple point and watching red and blue flicker before his vision once more.

"Rose. What is today's current stardate?"

_The current stardate is 0900-572-983-799._

John stood, dumbfounded, checking the text in the corner of his vision. The scanner had read his request as well, and supplied him the same information. The date stood there in blue text, flashing twice to indicate new information had entered the scanner database.

"Rose, when is the last time you made contact with someone from starship, before you spoke to me just now?"

He thought back to the chamber where he'd awoken, the moss that had covered everything, the hull breach, the stones blocking the path to the med-bay he'd headed to before. The intercom system above-head was quiet for a long time, as if searching through database records. Then finally, she spoke.

_Last known contact with federation personnel - recorded stardate 0309-469-311. Contact made with Engineering Personnel Systems Operator Dirk Strider. Recorded message available for playback. Would you like to replay this message?_

"Oh my god."

John's heart felt as if it were about to beat out of his chest. His face felt flushed, his hand clasped over his chest, his sight fading in and out. A red alert popped up in the corner of his vision and a warning beep sounded from the scanner against his temple.

_Distressed vitals detected. Recommended course of action - attempt to level breathing pattern immediately. Failure to comply will result in oxygen deprivation, consequences include failure to remain conscious, possible injury upon collapse. John, correct your breathing pattern immediately-_

John couldn't focus, couldn't think. The last date he remembered was 0309-469-295. That was the date they'd set off from Earth to the space colonies off of Jupiter's moons. He had a station on Ganymede, a specialized job waiting for him there. They were going to work on strengthening the harvests among the moons, regulate the water filtration and renewal systems, the soil regeneration levels, the oxygen output from the trees in the newly harbored greenhouse atmosphere. The ship...they should have arrived by -298, but this recording...was from thirteen years later?

_John, please comply with suggested corrective measures. Failure to comply with result in-_

"Play the message! Play back the message, Rose."

_Distressed vitals and oxygen level readings suggest breathing patterns should be regulated immediately before-_

"Play it now!"

The computer hesitated, and John took a few deep breaths to calm himself before finding a seat and slumping down into the soft white upholstery, shivering violently with shock now that his legs didn't need to support him. There had to be an explanation for all of this. There had to be...some mistake.

_Vitals showing signs of stabilizing. Attempt to play back record from aforementioned stardate in ten seconds. Record left by Dirk Strider, recipient status directed towards Dave Strider. No privacy locks detected in mainframe. Playback beginning now._

The hologram lenses before his spectacles panned out wide to create a floating monitor, and a man came into view. A blonde with a scruffy beard, cheeks hollowed out as if severely malnourished, dark goggles cracked on one side and stretched taut across his too sharp features. There was blood in the corner of his mouth, as if he'd been punched or had gotten into a fight earlier but had stopped the bleeding for now. He had scrapes along his exposed arms and shoulders, his clothes looked ragged, torn. He was a shell of a human being. John stared at him in horror, hand covering his mouth. He was going to be sick.

_"Hey Davey. Don't have much time now, but I wanted to leave you something, incase you ever find your way back to the starship again."_

John focused on the man, the gruff tone in his voice, broken by coughing now and then. He wasn't wearing a mask, and John was beginning to notice the tint of green along the corner of his mouth as well. It made his blood look too dark, nearly purple. It caused John's insides to twist uncomfortably, that sick feeling only growing stronger the longer the man spoke. _This could have been me, if I had woken up sooner...why hadn't I woken up sooner? When Dirk did? What happened to us...?_ His heartbeat was too loud in his ears, drowning out the words being replayed over the scanner, but he closed his eyes for a moment and drew a deep, shuddering breath, grounding himself back to reality. When he looked up again, the man was smiling. He looked happy, speaking to the computer. He looked resolved somehow. Complete.

_"I just wanted to say, I looked for you. I tried to find you for ages, Davey. I looked across the jungle, hunting down pieces of this fuckin' ship, hoping I'd stumble across your pod one of these days. It's been years now Davey, years since the rest of us woke up and went searching for any survivors. But now...we're out of food and water. Out of time."_

The audio cut out for a moment, and the picture flickered and faded in and out before returning to the playback.

_"-oxygen levels are too low, people are fading now in and out of their minds. There's no one coming for us Dave. We're all alone out here. I just wanted you to know I tried to find you, little bro. I tried to find you, every day. Every night. I searched for you. I'm sorry I didn't do better. I'm sorry I couldn't see you in the end."_

The man in the recording coughed again, inspecting his hand and chuckling softly, John grimacing at the sight of too-dark blood splattered against his bronze skin.

_"If you're out there, if you find this someday. You gotta understand, nothing is safe here. The plants, the air, everything is toxic. There aren't enough masks to go around for everyone, and now that the air's getting thin we're all fighting tooth and nail over scraps of whatever we can find. Some of the weaker ones...they've already died. But we're fighters, aren't we Davey? We've always been the tough ones."_

The man stepped back, away from the recording window, then pulled a sword into view.

_"I'm leaving her here for you Dave. If you want her, come and find her. I'll leave her waiting for you, when you wake up and come looking. We're in the mess hall of Deck E, the Engineer's lounge on Starship Mondrogosa's west-"_

The recording suddenly ended, a series of red error messages flickering in the sights of the optical reader.

_File corrupted. Unable to continue playback. Would you like to review the record again from the beginning?_

John shook his head, trembling, tears pouring down his cheeks. Deck E, the Engineer's suite. That was on the opposite side of the ship. The place where the message had been recorded, John had to find it. He had to see for himself.

"Rose. I need you to lead me to where this message was recorded. Can you complete a remote transit request to personal scanner? It's an emergency, I need you to come with me. We have to...we have to find them..."

The intercom was silent for a short while before his scanner beeped and Rose's voice was suddenly much closer, much clearer than before.

_Request for remote transference to personal scanner granted, due to ongoing state of emergency. Transit guide assistance granted to Biome Researcher John Egbert._

Rose beeped for a few moments, as if calculating code, then spoke up again.

_Official Federation Fleet log, recording: Stardate 0900-572-983-799. In compliance with probationary exchange measures, transit guide granted to next highest personnel in direct chain of command. All access to ship memorybanks and mainframe now granted to Federation Fleet Exploratory Starship Mondrogosa First Captain Johnathan Egbert. To confirm acknowledgement of your promotion, please confirm your consent to Operational Management Guide System R.O.S.E. - Starfleet Regulation Autopilot Communications System. Do you consent?_

John blinked blearily, reaching up to wipe away the tears streaming down his cheeks, numb to the warmth spilling from his eyes. The hologram lenses flickered a bit before returning to their usual state, and Rose's voice filled his ears again.

_Awaiting confirmation of promotion from First Captain John Egbert._

John laughed nervously, hunching forward and glancing down at his hands, watching the way the neon blue lights flickered across his fingertips and palms, sensors reading the genetic makeup of his tears before logging the information in the ship's internal databank. He was alone. Completely and utterly alone. Billions of years had passed since Rose had spoken to another human being aboard the starship. He was on an unknown planet, a dangerous, toxic planet somewhere in the universe. He had no idea how the ship had crashed, where they were, how far from Earth...if Earth even still existed. By now their solar system's sun had likely gone supernova, wiping out all remnants of his homeworld or anything that had once been familiar. Who knew what changes could have possibly transpired over the past 900 billion years. The mere thought of such things...they were mind numbing. Completely overwhelming. It made him want to shut down, collapse in on himself and cry. He wanted to freak out. He needed time to absorb all of this information he'd so unceremoniously been given. And a promotion to Captain? This...was insane.

He balled his hands into fists, clenching his teeth and exhaling slowly. No. He could do this. He could handle this. If nothing else - he would try to find answers, to survive. He wouldn't just give up. There had to be something he could do. He had to find a way to the other side of the ship. And with Rose's help, he had confidence he could do so. The computer chimed again, repeating her previous statement, in standby mode until she heard verbal verification from her new commander. He shifted in his seat, standing up once more and glancing around the med-bay, shaking a bit but trying to keep the panic out of his voice when he finally spoke to the autopilot system.

"Johnathan Egbert, in compliance with emergency promotional regulations. I hereby accept probationary position as Acting Captain."

The computer in his ear chimed softly, and Rose spoke again.

_Statement accepted. Captain, do you consent to redirect complete authority to, and be recognized by, your name John Egbert throughout the remaining extended functionality of the ship?_

Yes, that's exactly what he wanted. His name would give him access to every part of the ship, including the bridge. He could find a mapping system there, hopefully, if the computer systems in the main hull weren't completely destroyed during the breach. He nodded, breathing quickening again, his pulse pounding in his ears. He was already brainstorming, already formulating a plan. _I have to explore every inch of this ship, there has to be a way off this planet. There has to be somewhere safe I can go..._

Rose piped up again, repeating her previous question. This time John was ready with his answer.

"You have my full understanding and express consent. Give me access...to everything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're as excited about this as I am. Get ready for a wild ride.


	2. Scout

John left the med bay, and with Rose guiding him down the halls he found his way to a sealed off bunk-room. Looting through the lockers there was more than fruitful, and within the next two hours he had amassed quite the arsenal of provisions, including clothing, medicine, and purified water along with sealed rations and canned foods. After several scans to be sure that the contents were edible, John dug into one of the cans of mixed vegetables and downed two bottles of water, going over the list he had made in his personal database with Rose.

"Read it to me again, Rose. From the top."

_Yes Captain._

Rose whirred softly as she read back her findings, the sights of the optical scanner highlighting items as she read through the list of supplies.

_The provisions you have gathered from this bunker should last one individual for approximately 187 days. Findings include rationed goods of fruits, vegetables, and legumes. Including balanced nutrition through rations, supplements, vitamins, and purification device for adapting water filtration - resources are adequate for immediate survival tactics. Oxygen levels remain stable throughout the corridor, and with consumption on a regular basis involving only one lifeform, remaining oxygen supplies should last for approximately 953 days. Other sealed chambers have been detected within the nearby vicinity which may prove to hold rations of food, water, oxygen, and medicine to further initial lifespan prognosis._

John nodded, scooping up another spoonful of vegetables and shoving it in his mouth before bringing up his tangible display. He flicked through the database Rose was creating for him as she read off the list of gathered supplies to prove her estimations and initial findings. _This is good. I can work with this. Now, to find the deck where Dirk made his recording..._

"Rose, can you find a path to the Engineering deck in the west corridor? I want to go to the recording site of the hologram you showed me before."

_Affirmative, path to west wing corridor located below Deck C, through ventilation shaft. Please note, integrity of the hull has been compromised along portions of the shaft, a breathing mask for ventilation of alien contaminants is required._

John nodded absently, polishing off the can before setting it aside and grabbing the backpack he'd been stuffing with supplies before his break. Finishing up the last preparations for his venture to the west corridor and zipping up the sides of the bag to seal the contents tightly within, he stood to his feet. He was in boots again, and a full combat bodysuit he'd found within the lockers, a lightweight model with a thick mesh netting to handle impact and environmental wear. He wasn't sure what exactly he'd be getting himself into, but he wanted to make sure to keep that green slime out. Whatever it was. He pulled on a half-helmet, wrapped securely around his skull, the padding light and durable. Also thick enough to handle concussive damage should he fall from some sort of height while climbing through the vents towards the decks below. The last thing he needed was to hurt himself before he'd even started. He pulled full goggles over his eyes, the spectacles flickering and combining with the exterior sights to amplify his vision. The extra weight of the material pinched at the bridge of his nose a bit before the spectacles settled into place. They were meant to be compatible with just about every other piece of hardware engineered and outfitted, after all. Otherwise, with his shoddy vision, he'd really be screwed. He tapped his right temple, watching the sensory displays light up and merge together, then tugged the backpack across his shoulders and fastened the chest strap into place. He paused, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, thinking about what he needed to do.

"Alright Rose, show me the way."

A yellow path appeared before him, and he turned until he was aligned with the sights and the path turned green, showing he was going the right way.

_Proceed to highlighted route, Captain._

"Captain, yeah...on it..."

He shook his head, flexing his gloves and shifting in his boots to make sure everything fit snugly against his frame, then he headed out. Leaving the bunk-room, he continued through the corridor which seemed to be sloping down the longer he continued. Had they crashed on a hillside? Or sunk into the soil over the years? The ship was definitely not leveling out. In the end he was walking upright along the walls, stepping over doors and gliding his hand along the ceiling to keep himself upright. Then the path Rose lit up before him dipped low, diving down into one of the rooms he was heading towards.

_Please watch your step as you descend into the next chamber._

"Thanks Rose." His tone was only a little on edge as he went down to his knees, prying open the door until the sensors chimed and the door opened the rest of the way on its own. He peeked down into the dark interior, then exhaled softly and reached up with his left hand to tap along the top of his goggles, lights illuminating along the curved surface and shining a wide beam down into the room. It was untouched for the most part, though vines were peeking through one side of the compromised wall, and John quickly tugged his mask up across his face to hide his nose and mouth. Rose hadn't prompted him yet, but he wanted to be cautious not to contaminate his lungs again. Another date with the purification chamber so soon definitely didn't sound appealing in the slightest. "Okay then. Here we go."

He descended slowly, watching his footing as he climbed down into the room. Entering from above was awkward, but he planted himself firmly against the opposite wall once we was fully on the ground again, looking up at the doorway above him where he'd entered with a little sigh. That was going to be a pain in the ass to crawl up to again. But he'd worry about that later, when the time came go to back to the bunker. He turned his attention back to the path before him, following his sights to the wall to the left of where he'd landed and finding the edges of the ventilation shaft with little effort. Once the panel was set aside he glanced down the long, dark crawlspace with apprehension and swallowed thickly, then went down to his knees and began making his way inside. It was roomy enough even with his backpack, and one he'd made it past the first two turns he wasn't so freaked out by the way the metal creaked under his light weight and shuffling strides. Rose updated him now and then on his progress. 15%, 38%, 70%...then at 79% he had to stop. The air here was thick, hard to breathe in despite his mask. The smell was tangy, like the slime he'd touched before, and there were green stains along the inside of the shaft and green water-droplets dripping down between the cracks along the shaft lining. It was making him feel sick. He coughed behind his mask, eyes watering, then he spoke to Rose with a strained tone.

"Analysis on foreign contaminants? What's making the air so bad in here? That smell..."

_Residue from alien flora. Prolonged exposure to fuel-cells has contaminated and effectively poisoned the porous soil, immersing the area directly surrounding the ventilation shaft with harsh chemical-soaked sediment. Proceeding to destination swiftly is recommended._

_Fuel cells... Could the starship be contaminating, no...mutating the alien plantlife and causing it to become acidic in nature?_ John avoided touching the green slime wherever he could, passing through the green haze thick in the air and then finally starting to ascend. His studded gloves gripped the metal easily as he continued climbing up through bends in the air shaft that had pinched the metal inward, undoubtedly from impact when the ship crash-landed. He had to slide his backpack off here and push it through the small gap ahead of him, then climb after flat on his belly, kicking through the last of the crawlspace into the room beyond. This side of the ship...looked haunted. It was dark, eerily covered with moss and slime everywhere within sight. John shivered and checked the readings of his goggles then toggled the lights off now that he could see again. The lights were flickering now and then, but for the most part the energy levels seemed stable. The oxygen on this side however, was so severely diminished the levels were nearly non-existent to his scanner's readings. There was enough carbon-monoxide in the air that a human would suffocate in minutes. He checked his mask absently, reassuring himself it was secure, then he proceeded forward. Despite Rose's analysis earlier, he was doubtful they'd find any resources here. Especially with what Dirk's message had said, they'd been fighting one another for survival at the end. All food and water gone. John didn't want to imagine what dying like that was like. He shivered, steadying himself and beginning to explore the room. He found the door, pressing the hand-panel to open it, and was met with a rush of cold air. There was water in the hallway, and ice along part of the corridor as it opened up further. John stepped closer, rounding the nearest corner and peeking into the room beyond. There had been a temperature regulation unit here, which had obviously malfunctioned. The entire interior of that room had solidified into a giant block of ice. He stepped over the ice coating the floor beneath his boots carefully, listening to the crunch under his steps with mild anxiety before making his way past the frozen section to the other side and continuing on. At the end of the long stretch of corridor warning messages flashed along his sights and Rose's voice chimed in his ear.

_Warning, hull breach ahead. Exposure to foreign microbodies imminent. Proceed with caution._

He reached forward, pressing his gloved hand over the chilled palm-reader and then lifting his arm to cover his eyes at the blinding light that poured in from the opening doors. When his vision cleared, he lowered his arm and took a step inside, wincing lightly at the tang in the air and surveying the plants covering everything. They were flowering here, different before than the moss in the chamber where he'd awoken. Here, there were clovers and star-shaped flowers with spiny petals, pinks and yellows, whites and blues. Colorful and buzzing with some sort of insects that flit between the bells of the flowers to gather nectar from inside. His scanner recorded findings as he approached, green lights giving him the go ahead to proceed - the insects weren't a threat, couldn't penetrate his bodysuit, and as long as he kept to himself they seemed far more interested in their meal than messing with him. He glanced up through the foliage of ivy and flowering plants, but the light was too bright for him to focus on for too long. Perhaps the sun here was white instead of yellow? He wasn't sure why his goggles couldn't quite focus past the hull breach, but he wasn't headed that way anyway. He turned his attention to the main room stretching out to the right, and stepped through some hanging ivy down a series of steps. This was the lounge room, the mess hall for the engineers of the ship somewhere in the collapsed chamber beyond, hidden by rocks and thick walls of vines. He was half expecting to find corpses, bones left behind by his former crewmates, but it had been so long now. There was nothing left behind to find.

_Warning, foreign contaminant located directly above. Avoid interacting with contaminant, issuing evasive maneuvers to proceed safely to destination._

John had been so busy looking down he'd forgotten to look up. Above, where the ivy was thickest, it seemed there was some kind of domed window holding a substantial volume of liquid. The bowl-shaped barrier was covered with thick slime and dripping in several places, droplets tinking softly against a pool that had gathered below in the center of the room. That didn't look safe at all. He skirted around the center of the room and followed Rose's instructions as the thick ivy blocked the next few entrances branching into the hallways beyond, but then finally there was an accessible, sealed room. John used his voice recognition commands to break the seal, and the doors swung open. Here the interior was untouched, no slime in sight. When the door shut behind him, the intercoms above chimed and flashed with alarms in warning, Rose's voice echoed overhead the same recording it must have since the crash.

_Please evacuate to the nearest exit. Stay with your unit, your chief officer will give further instructions on how to proceed. Remain calm. Please evacuate to the nearest-_

Rose beeped softly a few times, then said over the recording, _Administrator permissions include discontinuation of emergency evacuation tutorial readings. Option to disengage overhead announcements for evacuation proceedings? Confirm or deny request._

"Confirm. Shut it down, Rose."

_Confirmed, Captain. Overhead announcements will be silenced._

John breathed out a little sigh of relief, grateful for the echoing alarms and voice to finally stop their repetitions. He stepped forward, leaning to one side at the uneven terrain now that they were continuing forward again, then after a short climb to reach the top platform, John accessed the next level of the engineering corridor and continued inside. Here, the network systems seemed to be up and running, repaired somehow. Likely an engineer's doing, before they'd met their end. John stepped up to one of the monitors, flicking on the lights in the room with a few quick clicks and glancing around cautiously once the darkened interior was alight with neon pulses of energy. There wasn't a skeleton in sight, but there was a hologram recorder set up nearby, sitting before a sword. This was where the recording had taken place. He'd found it. Now what.

"Rose, the stardate on the record Dirk Strider left before. Are there other recordings around that time-frame left by any other members of the crew?"

_The files of surrounding stardates have been corrupted. Memorybanks are not fully operational._

"Are there any files about the crash, anything that shows what happened? How we landed here, where we are. Anything?"

Rose was silent for a while, searching. _Confirmed, ship logs intact on bridge, accessible with current Acting Captain privileges. Records are required to be viewed on bridge, unable to grant remote access capabilities to unverified device._

Then that was the next step. He had to gain access to those logs. "Can you chart a path from here to the bridge?"

Rose paused again, calculating a response. _Negative, unable to confirm safe pathway to bridge. Vessel is compromised, hull breach causing malfunctions to surrounding chambers. Access to bridge is not possible through starship, voice command override function not accessible due to mainframe damage. Autopilot system unable to override door-latching mechanisms to allow access to bridge. Apologies, Captain._

"Damn it...there has to be a way."

John huffed softly, pacing back and forth before the monitors, glancing across the keyboards atop the bar and frowning lightly while approaching one of the monitors. He pulled out one of the chairs, taking a seat and staring blankly at the holoscreen before him. He knew basic computer skills, and bare minimum about engineering. What could he access from Deck E that would somehow show him the way to the captain's bridge? The main deck, it must be so far above this level, there was no way he could get there without Rose's guidance. For all he knew it wasn't even attached to this part of the ship anymore, Dirk had said the starship was in pieces when he'd been searching the wreckage for his brother.

"Rose, can you show me a blueprint of the ship?"

_Yes, Captain._

The computer before him whirred to life, pulling up various files on the layout of the starship, before zooming out and showing their location on Deck E. The ship was upright in the blueprint, but John knew that wasn't its current state of being.

"Okay, can you show me the current degree of alignment, mirroring the ship as of right now?"

The image on the screen tilted then flipped almost completely upside down. That definitely wasn't good. No wonder the gravity seemed so out of wack on this level of the ship.

"Good. Now, can you show me which parts of the ship are still connected to where we are right now?"

Pieces of the ship fell away, one by one, showing only the chambers that remained connected to the spine of the ship. The captain's bay was still there, but it was far away and upright, with no connecting paths between his current location, nor where he'd awoken before. That wasn't good. He sighed and reclined back against the headrest, leaning the chair back with a little creak before glancing towards the recording device beside the sword. He reached for it, pulling it close and inspecting the record-keeping transient device before placing it on the nearby dock to load the clips within the memory, tapping to access the first file. It was silent, the audio corrupted, but John recognized the desert biome as somewhere on earth. United States, judging from the English adorning the magazine covers and CD albums the camera panned across. What was that, some sort of musical device, a record player? No, turntables. He'd heard of those before, they were beyond ancient now. Without audio the clip didn't mean much. He clicked on the next in the series, the audio a bit distorted. He could make out someone speaking, and a beat. But nothing more. He took his time, searching through the files and tapping with his fingertips across the monitor, clicking here and there to fast-forward and rewind. Not finding anything useful, he almost skipped the last few clips, but he felt the need to complete what he'd started. He tapped on the next playback file in line and was greeted with Dirk's face, up close and personal once again. He looked younger in this recording, no scruffy beard, full features and a wide grin. He finger gunned at the camera then shuffled a bit to sit it down, backing away and tossing his arm around the shoulders of another boy. A blonde, smaller in stature, with shades that nearly matched as they stood side by side.

_"Well this is it. Our last night on Earth, Davey. What say we kick it old-style, one last time before heading out into the stars."_

The younger of the two brothers made a few gestures towards the camera, nodding along to the beat of a song playing in the background as Dirk laughed and shoulder checked him teasingly, the two brothers sharing a moment before the music started to flow. John hadn't noticed before, but they both had sort of a drawl, some sort of accent. Like Texas, maybe. He couldn't quite tell. Dave finally addressed the camera, grabbing it and pulling it close, his rounded shades framing his boyish features. His eyes were bright red, shining like gems behind his dark frames.

_"This is goodbye to the old life, and hello to the new. See ya' in outerspace, cowboy."_

John laughed softly, closing out of the file and sighing to himself, looking over at the sword still resting atop of the bar where Dirk had left it behind all those years ago. John wondered if it would be wrong of him to touch it. He debated for a few moments then decided it was time to go. He left the recordings on the monitor, leaving the sword to rest where it had been, where it always would be. Time to head back, until he could figure out some other way to reach the bridge and access the data he would need to figure out a way off of this planet.

He jerked violently at the sound of a crash outside the room, back in the direction of the mess hall. It sounded like broken glass, and now a rush of water being pouring from the ceiling onto the floor. The dome of slime he'd passed under before, to reach his current location. It must have finally collapsed under the weight of all that hazardous liquid. Before he could call for her, Rose was already sounding a warning alarm in his ear.

_There has been a breach. Evacuate immediately to higher level. Ship interior has been flooded with contaminants. You must evacuate to higher level, Captain. Toxins will fill this area quickly now that the breach has leaked into the main airspace._

John looked around, searching for any signs of escape. "Show me a way out of here, now Rose!"

Sensors lit up across his lenses, the overhead lights flickering and then shutting down completely just as his goggles' high-beams lit up the surrounding area. Being here in the sudden dark, with the sound of water rushing up from the ground-floor was more than unsettling, and that tangy sour scent of slime was in the air again, thicker than he'd ever experienced it before. Warning lights flashed in his peripherals, and he coughed despite his air mask, his eyes stinging behind his goggles. Fuck, that was strong.

When Rose still didn't respond, John called out for her again. "Come on Rose, how do I get out of here? We need to go, now!"

_Path of escape blocked by rising volume, avoid contact with contaminated fluids if at all possible. Suit integrity may be compromised by high level of toxicity in the water._

John's pulse elevated immediately, and he croaked out a startled, "What?" He couldn't get out? But, he had to get out. He couldn't just stay here. Who knew how much liquid was pouring from the ceiling, and for how long. He went to the edge of the room and looked down into the darkness, his high-beams lighting up the green water rising from down below. Fuck, fuck, fuck he was trapped up here. And if he was lucky he was only trapped, and wouldn't have to worry about it rising up further to reach his current level. Maybe...it would drain somehow. Yeah, right down the ventilation shaft where he'd crawled through before. That meant...there wasn't a way back to the bunker he'd found before. Or the medical bay. Fuck. He was so screwed.

_Acute distress detected. Please level your breathing, Captain._

"I can't level my breathing without knowing there's some way out of here Rose! Please help me!" The strain in his voice was close to panic, tears biting at the edges of his vision and blurring his sight temporarily. If he'd been afraid before, waking up to find out he was alone and had been for billions of years, at the thought of drowning in goop or being eaten alive by alien acid he was in a word: terrified. "Tell me what I can do, I can't just stand here watching!"

_Climb to higher ground._

Rose set a path in his sights again, this time lighting up handholds along the wall up towards a shaft near the ceiling. If John remembered correctly, the shaft didn't go anywhere close to where he wanted to go - but it was higher, at least. Away from the rising water. He steadied himself, adjusting the straps on his backpack a bit tighter before climbing up to stand atop the bar and then reaching up with one hand, then the next, effectively scaling the wall where cracks had formed in the metal and twisted disjointedly with the impact. When he reached the shaft, he found it was a hell of a lot easier to pry the panel off with both hands, not one handed while climbing up the side of the wall. He scared himself a few times, nearly losing his grip, but when he finally managed to pry the panel off and toss it to the ground below he felt victorious, filled with adrenaline. He tried not to think about how the panel had splashed instead of clanked loudly upon impact. He hoisted himself inside, not daring to look down at the rising water. Rose had been right to tell him to climb. The water didn't seem as if it would be receding anytime soon.

He set off through the vent, following the highlighted path, Rose silent for now which he hoped was a good thing. He couldn't hear anything, just the sounds of his own movements against the shaft, and then suddenly there wasn't anything under his hands and he fell forward, barely catching himself before he fell down into the room below. He stared down into the darkness, there wasn't a room there - it was a cavern of some unknown depth below, stretching on and on. That must be why the ship was angled so strangely, they'd crashed into a ravine of some kind. It was rocky, barren. Like a grave. He shuddered and pulled back to the safety of the vent, fury rising as he shouted into the dark.

"Why didn't you warn me there was danger ahead!"

Rose was silent, and John tapped at his right temple, listening intently.

"Hey, answer me! Where's my warning, huh? That scared the shit out of me! If I hadn't caught myself, I could have-"

He couldn't finish his statement, biting back his anger and taking a deep breath. His heartbeat was definitely elevated, and she wasn't nagging him about his breathing either. Something must be wrong. Like in the first hallway, when she'd been unresponsive to his commands. He carefully shuffled over the gap in the shaft then continued forward, following the path in his scanner. He had to trust the path she'd shown him before while he was flying solo. It wasn't as if he could turn around and return to the room before, he had to press forward. Time seemed to stretch on forever in the quiet. He waited for some kind of beep, chime, anything from Rose. But it never came. When he reached the other end of the shaft, he tapped his optics, examined the readings and then made the decision himself to enter the room with or without Rose to guide his steps. He shoved off the panel, listening to the sound of clanging metal as it bounced down the wall and settled on the floor. He peered into the room, it was dark but the air seemed clear enough. More oxygen anyway. He sighed softly, carefully climbing down. This room was right-side up, and he stepped over to the door, hovering over the hand-panel and stating his name. No response. He frowned, tugged his glove off, tried again. Nothing. Fuck. He tugged back on his glove and looked around the room, investigating the books lining the walls, in some language he didn't understand. The linguistics department? Maybe the arts? He sorted through some of his findings, then checked the oxygen saturation levels again and hesitantly removed his mask. He really wanted some water.

Shrugging his pack off of his shoulders he unzipped the first compartment of his bag and retrieved one of his water bottles, downing half of it without a thought before he stopped himself. If he couldn't make it back, he had to ration everything he had with him. Lucky for him, he'd brought one of the water purification devices just in case. He whispered a soft thanks to whatever deity might be looking out for him, and then sealed up the pack again, tugging it back across his shoulders and securing the chest strap. He returned to the door, replacing his mask before examining the seal between the panel and the door, finding it was disconnected. He wasn't sure how to repair it, so he left it alone and tried to manually pry open the chamber instead. It took quite a lot of effort to part the doors a few inches, enough for John to get his hands inside and finally leverage the doors open enough to squeeze through. They slammed shut behind him one he released them, and he breathed out a sigh of relief. All limbs intact, including fingers and toes. Couldn't ask for much else after something like that. Now where was he? His path remained off-course when he focused on the hall and turned first one way then the other, sights remaining yellow no matter which way he turned. None of these corridors were going to take him to where Rose had first intended him to go, and until she was back online he would have to wander and see what he could find.

He started down the first hall branching off to the right, circling around to where the med bay had once been. There was nothing there now, just vines growing around the collapsed ceiling. The air here didn't smell sickly like the other locations had, and the flowers were smaller, pale whites and yellows. No insects here. John wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad, but the air held less toxins than before. Must be further away from the fuel cells. The vines lining the med-bay had created layers in the collapsed stones and metal from the breached hull, almost like a staircase. John shivered, looking up into the white light from above once more. He didn't know what awaited him outside. He didn't know anything about what to expect out there. A jungle, Dirk had said. But that was so long ago...

A whistle sounded from somewhere above, John jerking back until he was pressed to the wall, eyes wide as his sensors sought out the sound. Analysis played back the sound following a moment of silence, readings flitting between possible bird calls and finding nothing definitive. The whistle sounded suddenly again, foreign twittering and chirping echoing back some kind of response, before John relaxed enough to approach the faux stairs again. Well, he had to get back to the med-bay, back to his provisions, and there had been an opening above the room where his life-canister had been. If he could find that room he could get back to a safe space. Back to Rose. That sounded like as good an idea as any. He debated exploring the ship further, or taking a chance outside. Which was the greater risk? Which would be the quickest way back? Without Rose to guide him through the interior, the ship was a maze. He didn't know the layout of this side of the ship, he'd never had reason to go so far before. But the east side, the science wings, he knew that space fairly well. If he could find anything resembling the east wing he should be able to find his way back even without Rose's help. If he was lucky, he'd be able to recognize the pod-room without any trouble if he managed to stumble upon it. Alright. Outside it was, then.

He hoisted himself up onto the table, stepping across the vines and climbing up onto the next layer with a bit of nervousness. To his relief the vines were strong, and though they swayed a bit like a hammock with his movements they held his weight as he climbed up between the collapsed beams and rocks, up to the hull breach and into the white light. It took a while for his vision to adjust, his goggles darkening against the harsh light. But once he could see his sensors began running wild, scanning, analyzing, categorizing, filing away tons of new information for him to examine later. He was a biome researcher, after all. Under different circumstances, the science-geek side of him would be having a field day. But he was on full alert, tense and wary, not thinking of anything other than his safety and his primary objective - make it back to the bunker in one piece. He needed to find safety within the air-tight confines of the ship. Then plan on how to find the bridge and access those secured logs, and work out what had happened to strand the ship in such a place as this.

That being said - this planet was beautiful. What bits of it he could see, anyway. The flora was lush and vibrant, the sun was hard to focus on, and if John was seeing things correctly he made out two orbs in the sky, though he wasn't sure if both were suns or if one was a moon or nearby planet. His sensors were having a hard time reading through the harsh light as well, even with his goggles protectively tinted to keep his eyes shielded from the sharp rays. He stepped carefully across the ivy to the ground, feeling the soil settle beneath his feet. The grass was...weird, writhing and moving despite the lack of wind. Like it were alive. Or perhaps the ship and surrounding trees were planted on the back of some gigantic beast. Anything was possible, after all. He tried to stay off of the grass as best he could, disliking the way it shifted against his boots as if trying to coil around his ankles and keep him in place. He wondered fleetingly if this planet had carnivorous flora. _Let's hope not. That's the last thing I want to stumble across right now._ Not for the first time since leaving the sword behind, John chided himself for not thinking to bring along some kind of weapon. He hadn't really anticipated he'd be traversing along the planet's surface. But still. Definitely under-prepared. The whistling had stopped, the chirping as well. He glanced around the trees, almost too tall for him to make out the boughs far above, disappearing into the light. Whatever birds were out there, his presence had scared them into silence. At least for now. He breathed in deep, adjusting his mask absently before continuing forward. He retraced his path, heading back to where he imagined must be close to his starting point. He didn't see any gaps in the ship, nor any pathways descending down into the ground or the vessel below. That wasn't good. He didn't like being out here, being exposed. He cursed softly under his breath, then turned around to face the direction he'd come from and stopped dead in his tracks.

There was someone there. Something. A humanoid, an alien. The first thing, the only thing, John could focus on were the giant ears perched atop the alien's head. Like bat ears, twisting this way and that, angling towards him. Listening, evaluating. His scanners were whirring and beeping, loud in the quiet of the now silent forest. Those large ears seemed to pivot slightly each time his scanner beeped, chimed, or whirred, the creature reacting to the mechanical noises his sights made with small twitching movements.

Then suddenly Rose's voice was in his ear, so loud so suddenly it had John jerking and recoiling backwards, falling flat on his back and falling still - down into a hidden chamber beneath him. He landed hard, knocking the wind out of his lungs, and he scrambled up to his feet again and backed against a wall. He looked up, focusing on the place where he'd fallen through the thick vines, then looked around the room. He recognized this place faintly, one of the lounge decks. Maybe he could find his way back from here. Rose's voice was speaking to him, but he couldn't focus on her, too hyped up on adrenaline to listen, nearly panicking as he waited for whatever that creature had been to descend and follow after him like some massive humanoid bat. He waited a few long heartbeats, and when nothing happened he finally pried himself away and rushed into the nearest hallway, panting hard and finally listening to what Rose had to say.

_-return to Medical Bay. Detecting sprained wrist and possible fractured elbow, as well as whiplash to vertebrae from fall. Please return to Medical Bay. Detecting various injuries. Captain, please respond to suggested command._

"Show me the way Rose. Let's get out of here."

_Affirmative, Captain. Charting route to Med Bay. Please proceed to highlighted route. To avoid further strain on your injuries, show favoritism to your left side. Handle your wrist with care until medical care is received._

John kept glancing over his shoulder as he made his way down the hall, finding the route more and more familiar as Rose showed him the way. By the time they had returned to the corridor housing the bunker, John didn't need instructions to find the med bay. He was just glad to be back. To be alive. He went to the purification chamber, had himself evaluated and treated, then immediately shrugged back into his bodysuit and pulled up the optics display for his spectacles while tugging on his boots.

"Show playback of encounter with alien lifeform."

_Readying playback of encounter with unknown lifeform in ten seconds._

John was bouncing his leg absently, tracing his palm with the fingers from his other hand while he waited for the footage to begin. Then there it was. Luckily his scanner had been recording, even if Rose hadn't been there to guide him the entire time. He zoomed in, inspecting the creature. It had been further away from him that he had realized, and had seemed startled, eyes cat-like with slit pupils, widened with surprise. Or fear. It hadn't moved, hadn't made a single move to step towards him at all - it wasn't until Rose spoke up that either of them had moved, and as soon as John had started to fall the bat alien had darted off into the treeline. It hadn't been following him after all. He rewound the feed, zooming in further to inspect the alien, taking note of the ears protruding from the top of the skull as well as ears where a human's should be. Two sets of ears? No wings or anything, but that larger set definitely had a distinct bat-like appearance. Like webbing, or membrane of some sort. Then there were those eyes, round and wide, pointed at the tips. Almost too big. Slit pupils, like a feline's. Mouth partially open in what could have resembled shock - wide enough to reveal a set of pronounced fangs, visible despite the obvious lack of aggression in the creature's stance. An alien. The first alien John had ever seen. And he'd scared it off. Would it be back? Did it live around here? Were there...more of them? These...bat creatures?

"What the hell was that thing..."

_The indigenous species are known as the Fein._

John bolted upright, standing to his feet as he stammered shakily in reply. "Wait, you know about these things? Tell me everything you know about them, Rose. What are they, are they aggressive?"

_In Doctor Jade Harley's research findings, Fein are typically non-aggressive, and tend to be a social, curious species. Communication with Fein is still undergoing developmental research, though prototypes of translation devices crafted by Doctor Harley's team have had successful trial runs with friendly Fein willing to participate in the Doctor's research. Further studies have shown the Fein are intrigued by mechanical devices, especially those that have-_

The spectacle's optics panned out to show a widescreen array of images, captured with various recording devices and different stardates labeling each image throughout a decade at lease, all around the time before Dirk had left Dave his final recording. There were all sorts of bats, these...Fein, in different colors, sizes, heights, and patterned skins. And clothing. They wore clothing? Looking at these pictures, they didn't seem nearly as scary as the one he'd witnessed before. Perhaps he'd only been scaring himself. He hadn't been anticipating an alien encounter. He hadn't been expecting any of this at all.

_-communication problems lie within the sensitivity of the Fein's hearing. Devices compatible with both human and Fein aural sensitivity function on different audio wavelengths and therefore make synchronizing nearly impossible to perfect. Doctor Harley remains optimistic, as do the Fein that consistently interact with her and her crew, though hearing damage endured by failed experiments have caused conflict between the two species. The chief of the local tribe has outlawed Fein interactions with humans, from what the Doctor has gathered while speaking with her Fein companions. Interactions and research notes past stardate 0309-469-308 become increasingly scarce. Almost all notes from stardate -308 to -311 are personal logs by Doctor Jade Harley. Key to access the Doctor's personal mainframe are encrypted, but the Captain may override this encryption and access all files associated with science personnel. To view archives, please visit the mainframe located on the bridge-_

"Guess there's another reason for me to find my way there, the mainframe aboard the bridge must have so much hidden information. I have to find a way to get there. Rose, can you find a path to the Captain's bridge, even if it takes us above ground to the surface level?"

Rose was silent for a moment before chiming and giving her reply.

_Footpath through the jungle to reach the bridge is possible, Captain. Traveling above-ground is not advised, due to previous interactions with local tribes that ended poorly between humans and Fein. The suggested path travels directly through Fein territory. Finding another route to the bridge would be advised._

"Is there another way you haven't told me about yet, Rose?" The computer was silent, not having a response. Calculating, no doubt, but not able to find anything effective. "Alright then, sounds like we're going to be taking a little hike through alien territory after all."

Still no response for several long minutes, then Rose finally replied.

_Terminal guidance system will scout the suggested path and watch for any abnormalities in the region indicating alien lifeforms are present. Suggested wait time until nightfall, when terrain will be easier to navigate before dark._

John sighed, leaving the med bay and heading down the corridor towards the bunk-room again, goggles and helmet clasped in one hand, gloves and a bottle of water in the other. _That gives me a few hours to rest and come up with a backup plan for possibly bumping into an alien while I'm out there...but what should I do if I do come face to face with that Fein again...?_ His optics still held pictures of the creatures, and he focused on one til it magnified, and he inspected it again. The ears atop the skull were...impressive. The set along the side of the skull, much smaller. Humanistic, if not for the webbing connecting them to the larger set above. Adorned with piercings, how strangely familiar. He lifted two fingers and panned through a few more pictures, noticing that now and then the smaller, secondary ears seemed to be different shapes. One point. Sometimes two. Webbing stretched between the points, like membrane of bat wings. But the giant set atop the skull seemed to stay relatively the same, with slightly different points or shapes where the base met the skull. Each Fein had different colorations and patterns across their figures, some had freckles, some were completely covered in spots. Some were furry, as if they were built for adapting to cold weather environments, others seemed as if they were almost...modern. Wearing clothes, some with logos John almost recognized. Gifts maybe, from their human companions. Some wore jewelry in their pictures, and...was that lipstick? One of the Fein seemed dolled up, grinning alongside a human girl with long dark hair and faux ears perched atop her head. Probably on a headband or something. Maybe she thought wearing big ears like the Fein would help make them see her as one of them. The alien beside her seemed happy enough. John inspected the date on the picture, and the description. Huh. So that was Doctor Jade Harley. He'd been expecting some old professor, not a girl who looked as if she could be his age. He turned to head into the bunk-room, flicking his optics aside to clear his vision and groaning loudly while collapsing down atop one of the bedrolls. He was exhausted. He settled himself in the middle of the bed, staring up at the ceiling, then he heard Rose's voice chime softly in his ear.

_Alarm set for departure in six hours._

"Make sure you wake me up if I fall asleep, Rose."

_Of course, Captain._

John sighed, rolling onto his side and propping his head up on his arm, letting himself relax for the first time since he'd left earlier that day. Aliens. There were aliens here. And he'd encountered one of them. Holy shit. If only there was someone here with him, to share everything with. This was terrifying, but exhilarating. He wished more than anything he wasn't all alone for this amazing ride. Eyes growing heavy, John yawned and allowed himself to drift off with thoughts of bat ears and cat-eyes flitting through his mind. He dreamt of Earth. Of his father. He slept soundly, until Rose's voice drew him out of his sleep.

_-proximity. Alien lifeform in close proximity. Alien lifeform in close proximity. Alien lifeform in-_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More alien encounters to come! Thanks for reading!


	3. Adaptation

John could feel it. Eyes on him. He tensed, turning over as slowly as he possibly could, breath caught in his throat as he focused his eyes on the doorway. There was a figure there, a shadow. He reached up, tapping his temple so his spectacles focused their optics and the lenses of the portable hologram device elevated back into place before his blurry eyes. There was a Fein there. The same Fein as before, when he'd fallen earlier. It was watching him with wide eyes, standing there, staring. Its ears twitched now and then, following the beeps of his optics, focusing on John's cheek then ear as if picking up on Rose's voice.

_-lifeform in close proximity. Alien lifeform in-_

"I got it Rose, jeeze. Will you shut up already? You aren't helping anything."

The voice stream cut off immediately, the computer beeping softly before returning to normal.

_Contact with foreign entity causing contamination to immediate area. Breathing mask is recommended._

"Yeah I got it, just. Be quiet for now, okay?"

John shifted uneasily, slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position. The Fein was far enough away that John didn't feel any immediate danger, and now that his back wasn't to the creature he didn't feel quite so utterly exposed. He stared the other down, the Fein appearing to be in quite the same state of shock at seeing a human so close. Not sure what to do, John merely shifted his legs over the side of the bed and watched the Fein for a long while, eyes drifting over the claws that held onto the door-frame. The creature was tense, apprehensive. As if it might bolt at any moment, at the smallest movement, at the slightest sound.

"I'm scared too." John's voice was soft, and he offered a little smile while giving a small gesture towards himself. "I really scared myself earlier, when I saw you before and fell backwards. Banged up my wrist a bit, and neck too, but the med bay fixed me right up, so no worries there..."

Fuck, what was he doing? Just rambling mindlessly about things that didn't really matter. But it felt better than just sitting in silence staring.

"Ah, crap. I guess I should apologize for scaring you earlier too, huh? If it's freaky for me seeing an alien...then I guess I'm an alien to you, and you must be really freaked out too. Right?"

He reached up, rubbing at his head for a minute before shifting and finally standing up. The Fein backed away from the doorway a bit, and John watched the figure...a boy, maybe? He couldn't quite tell, if the Fein had genders and all that jazz anyway. How was he supposed to know?

"Sorry...didn't mean to scare you. I just...I don't know what I'm supposed to say. I'm not a doctor or professor, I'm not trained on how to handle alien contact...I'm just a researcher. I study plants, I grow things... I figure out how to help things survive outside of their natural environment, my unit specialized in creating artificially-crafted atmospheres on planetary satellites."

He deflated a little, glancing down. He laughed softly, brow creasing a bit.

"You can't even understand what I'm saying, can you? I guess I'm going to have to get used to that, not being able to talk to anyone who understands what I'm saying. Except Rose, but she's a computer program, so I'm not really sure she counts anyway."

The Fein's large ears were focused on his voice, on his tone, intently as if absorbing every word. It took a period following a long silence, but the Fein finally moved. He stepped forward, towards John, tugging down the fabric twisted around his neck and revealing a large silvery scar across his throat. He gestured towards the mark, then back at John. He rumbled softly, something between a hum and a growl, then gestured to John again. Curious, questioning.

"Voice? My voice?" The Fein lowered his ears a bit before perking them upright once more, tilting one to the side slightly as if waiting for something. John laughed a bit, feeling somewhat awkward. "Uh, jeeze I mean...I don't really know what to talk about. You don't really understand anything I'm saying anyway I guess so..."

Wait. The device. The translator that Doctor Harley was developing, could the prototypes possibly still be on the ship somewhere? They had to be. Where else would they be? And if she was a scientist, wouldn't her lab be somewhere nearby, in this wing?

"Rose, where is the location of Doctor Jade Harley's research laboratory?"

_Doctor Harley's research lab was breached during impact. Access to lab functionality compromised. Do you still wish to visit location?_

"Yes! Show me how to get there."

_Affirmative, Captain. Route has been highlighted._

The sensors along his sights flickered with neon lights until he found the right way to turn. He needed to get to the hallway though, and with his newfound companion in the way...he was going to have to get around him without scaring him off completely. He held out his hands, palms raised up to show he meant no harm. He wasn't sure if the gesture translated, but he walked closer steadily, the Fein dipping his ears back and receding into the shadows to keep a distance between them. When John reached the hallway, he glanced over to make sure the Fein was still there. He was, drifting towards the breach in the pod-room, but hovering as if waiting to see what exactly John was up to. The human fixed his breathing mask in place then gestured for the Fein to follow after him, walking slowly towards the research lab while glancing back at the alien now and then. A few more gestures to follow and then he seemed to understand, gingerly following after John's footsteps though he kept a good distance between them as they ventured down the hall.

When Rose indicated they'd reached the right door, John overrode the security locks with his voice recognition and as the doors whirred open he stepped inside. His scanner highlighted various instruments as he worked his way through the messy papers and files strewn across desks and research tables, then finally he found a series of electronic devices that reminded him of classic Bluetooth earpieces. Had the Doctor really been working with such dated technology? He picked up one of the earbuds, examining it, and then turned towards the hall. The Fein was there, glancing around the room from the doorway, focusing on John when he turned towards his observer. _Alright, so if these are the communication devices how the hell am I supposed to operate them anyway?_ He frowned for a moment, holding the device up to his ear, then the oval shaped aural device unfolded and wrapped around the shape of his ear before resting in place. It beeped a few chimes that resonated with something else on the table - a matching device. He swallowed thickly then picked it up and held it in his hand, Rose speaking up again when a series of long chimes from the aural device didn't prompt John into action.

_Devices are ready to synchronize. Please place responding transmitter over aural shell to commence with experimental communication procedures._

John turned towards the Fein, taking a few steps closer and holding his hand out to the bat as if it were the most obvious thing to do. He definitely wasn't freaking out, shaking so badly he almost tripped as he took a few steps closer.

"Here, uh..."

He pointed at his ear, at the blinking device matching the one in his hand, then gestured to the translator resting in the cup of his palm. He held it out again, palm flat so that the creature could take it from him without the risk of scratching him with those super sharp looking claws. Up close and personal, this alien looked pretty fierce. Large claws and fangs, slit eyes, he definitely looked like something out of a horror movie come to life. But all the creature did was pivot his ears forward, tilting them down then up again, inspecting the device in John's hand but not making any movements to take it from him.

"You have to wear it, like this. See?"

He showed the alien his ear again, then looked to the other's ear and frowned a little. Wait...the smaller ears didn't seem as if they functioned for hearing. There wasn't an opening that John could see, it looked mainly like cartilage and webbing...like fins instead of something for auditory purposes. He glanced up to those giant bat ears, then down to the device in his hand. It was so small, was this really supposed to work with those massive ears? How could it...

"Uh, Rose? A little help here please...?"

Her voice was silent, and John frowned behind his mask before stepping a bit closer. The Fein didn't back away this time, and without the height of his ears John was actually a bit taller that the alien, he realized. But only a little. The boy watched him, eyes dilating and iris' flattening a bit before returning to their typical slit shape, gaze flicking down to John's hand before a clawed hand finally reached up to take the device from his fingertips. He moved delicately, claws barely even brushing against John with his movements. It was amazing, watching the way this creature moved. Humanoid, yet so animalistic. It was fascinating to observe. Eventually the Fein lifted the device up to the top of his skull an pressed it to one of his ears. The device chimed and latched onto the thick base of his aural shell and expanded across the outer surface, covering the curved edge and side of his ear with a patch of expandable nanofiber fabric that whirred and resonated with John's own device until they both flickered with the same pulse pattern and then settled into place quietly.

"Well. Now I guess I'm not really sure what we're supposed to do. I have no idea how these things even work, anyway." John's voice was soft, a bit strained. His eyes were downcast as he spoke, then surveyed the room, flitting over papers and faded documents. "Maybe there's a folder here somewhere with instructions on how to use these things..."

"I can understand."

John bolted, jerking towards the sound. He could hear the Fein's voice in his native tongue with his left ear, but with his right ear - the one with the translator wrapped around his cartilage - with that ear, the device echoed the words in his home language. In English. He stared at the alien, wide-eyed.

"Oh." That was all he could think of to say.

They stared one another down for a long moment, before the alien spoke again.

"What are you? How did you get here? Where did you come from? Are there others like you here? How-"

John lifted a hand, "Whoa, wait a minute. Slow down. I can only understand so much all at once." As the translator device beeped softly, finishing the final question, the human heaved a strained sigh and meet the alien's eyes.

"I'm a human. My ship, this ship, it crashed on your planet. A long time ago. I was asleep, inside one of those pods. You saw them, in that room with all the green slime? And no, I think everyone else who was here like me...is already dead."

The alien was quiet for a while, the device curved around his ear translating John's words back to him in Fein native tongue. After a small pause, the boy spoke up again.

"I'm alone too."

John's brow creased, not fully understanding. But before he could ask, the Fein continued.

"My nameright is Karkat."

Nameright...? John wasn't sure how accurately these devices were translating exactly what was being said, but he wasn't about to start complaining now. At least it was something, and something was better than nothing at all.

"My name is John."

The alien listened, ears pivoting towards him. He tried out the word, speaking it slowly. "John."

The human nodded, smiling a bit and watching the other. "Yeah, that's it. Nice to meet you, Karkat."

The Fein opened his mouth, as if to ask another question, then stopped. John watched him patiently, waiting, a sense of relief coursing through him. With these translators, he was capable of interacting with the alien lifeforms of this planet. Maybe somehow, through these devices, he could gain the information he needed to get to the bridge safely, to further explore the remains of the ship. To eventually get home. John focused on Karkat again, but the Fein's expression was torn. He looked as if he was trying to think of a way to phrase his next question, but eventually just exhaled sharply and said in what could only be described as a defeated tone, "You...should not speak with me." He closed his mouth, frowning a little, the pout accenting his fangs until he spoke up again. "I'm sorry, I should not have come."

John's eyes widened a bit with surprise, and he stepped forward when Karkat took a step back, the Fein already reaching up to try to take the device from his ear.

"Wait! What do you mean, I..." He watched Karkat with a strained expression. "I'm alone, I don't have anyone to talk to. I don't know anything about where we are, about this planet. About your kind." He reached up, rubbing at the back of his head, sliding his hand down his neck and letting out a long exhale. "Please don't leave, not so soon. I have so many questions I need answers to..."

"I can't stay. It's dangerous being here with you." The Fein frowned, glancing away, trying his best to tug the device off of his ear but failing to do so. He chirped softly, obviously in distress, backing away from John out into the hallway, glancing down the corridor towards the way they'd come before. He was definitely intent on leaving, John just couldn't understand why now, so suddenly. He'd seemed so curious before.

"Dangerous?" John took a step closer, lingering in the doorway, trying to give the Fein enough space that he wouldn't downright panic and run off with the translator. That might come in handy later, if he bumped into another Fein. Other Fein... John hesitated, trying to make sense of the bat's erratic behavior. "Do you mean...it's dangerous because...the chief outlawed having anything to do with humans?" Was that even still a thing, now that so much time had passed?

Karkat blinked over at him, ears lowering a bit and pivoting backwards, clearly confused. "Dangerous for you. Not me." He stepped closer again, clearly seeking out help, still tugging at the expanse of nanofiber clasping his outer ear. "I must go. I am outcast. Other Fein, they will help you. But not if they see you with me. I am outcast, to be shunned." He lifted his ear a bit, trying to get a grip on one side of the device to remove it without clawing through his ear during the process. "Please, you must remove this from me. I must go."

"Alright, okay. Just...hang on. Let me see." John scanned the device, speaking to Rose when he couldn't find the safety release. "Any suggestions here? I need to get this off without hurting him."

_Safety release catch located at the bottom corner of the pairing device._

John reached around the curve on the lower side, pressing the hidden button there so the aural device expanded and released the shell of Karkat's ear. The Fein audibly sighed, clearly relieved, then looked up to meet John's eyes, a little frown across his features.

"I'm sorry."

John could understand him still, the device beeping softly against his ear as the alien turned and walked away. He watched him go, confused and dissatisfied. He had learned nothing, other than apparently Fein can be shunned for some reason. That seemed a bit archaic, but then again he knew nothing about their society. He couldn't really judge anything based on such a brief interaction. John sighed, rubbing at his head and then glancing back across the disheveled room that had once been the workspace of Doctor Harley. At least the devices worked. He had to be thankful for that, even if they were a bit difficult to get off once they were on. It took John quite a while to finally find the safety release on his own device and remove it successfully.

By the time he made it back to the bunker it was almost dark. So much for resting. He had to start making his way towards the bridge. Maybe while he was out he'd bump into Karkat again, or another Fein who wasn't so skittish when it came to communication. What had Karkat meant anyway...and why was he shunned in the first place? He'd seemed...nice enough. John wished the alien had asked him more questions, and he could have asked at least a few of his own. Hopefully there would be a next time. He'd try to talk to him again if their paths crossed while he was out traversing the surface.

John shoved the translators into one of the hidden compartments of his chest armor, along the inner lining of the thick impact vest, where they would be easily accessible should he need to use them again. He patted down his chest armor, double checking that the translators were secure, before grabbing his backpack, tugging it across his shoulders and mentally readying himself to depart. He tightened the chest strap of his pack and then fixed his goggles across his holographic frames, adjusting the sights and checking the footpath laid out between his current location. It started at the breach in the nearby pod room then continued to the surface, stretching out across the wreckage of the ship before continuing further into the surrounding terrain. He was nervous but he shoved his fear and doubts to the background - had to get to the bridge, tonight if at all possible. He had to have answers. He had to. He felt restless, there was no way he was getting back to sleep. Besides, if he let himself procrastinate he was wasting valuable time. And supplies. The provisions in the bunker wouldn't last forever. Neither would the oxygen. He didn't even want to begin to think about how much water he had left. The filtration system seemed in tact, at least enough for hot showers, but who knew how long those would end up lasting. He had to savor every aspect of such luxuries while he still could.

Stepping out into the hall, John headed towards the pod room where he'd awoken to the sound of alarms before. He called out to Rose as they approached the door, noting it was half-open. Karkat must have seriously intense alien strength to have broken the seal on the door so easily and let himself inside. _How'd he even know where to find me?_ He frowned a little, noting the change in oxygen levels and pressure as he continued down the hall. Damn. He'd have to figure out how to repair that door. The airtight seal was definitely damaged. Hopefully he could manage a patch to save some of the oxygen leaking out of the corridor. He'd think about repairs later, first the repetitive noise overhead had to go.

"Rose. Kill the alarm, would you?"

_Yes Captain. Silencing overhead alarms._

John stepped through the doors, and the warning echoing overhead in the pod room silenced itself after a few moments of repetition. John glanced up, following the slant of a downed beam from the frame of the hull above him. That shouldn't be too difficult to walk up, if he kept his balance and avoided the slime. He flexed his gloves and checked his boots, he'd equipped environmental wear and brought climbing gear this time, the subtle spikes in the fabric of his soles and gloves adding extra friction to his steps and grip. He headed for the beam, making his way around a large, flat pool of slime. His boots left imprints in the thick moss surrounding the pool, squishing wetly with each step closer to the beam. Excess goo was dripping off the ceiling from another broken beam, and hazard warnings lit up in orange and yellow around the center of the pool as he scanned the green liquid with his optics. _More fuel..._ The scent was bad here too, though nothing compared to the flooded room he'd fled from before. He swallowed thickly and set his sights on the beam, his way out of the pod room and once again out into the open. There was more slime beneath the fallen beam. Great. Better not miss a step.

He jumped the last stretch, landing neatly on the beam with only a slight moment of terror when it shifted under his weight then settled against the floor. It splashed loudly against the pool of slime before leveling out and sloping gradually upwards into the growing darkness above. This was different than the last time he'd been here, when white light had been pouring down from the breach in the hull. Now, everything seemed more eerie, shadows hiding the corners of the room and camouflaging the broken pods amidst puddles of noxious green. Darkness had the same effect, it seemed, on every planet. The shipwreck in this lighting looked nothing short of creepy. It caused a shudder to course up his spine, John taking a moment to center himself before proceeding across the beam. He reached up and touched his optics, flicking the headlights of his goggles on with a light touch then making note of each footstep as he continued upwards. It wasn't too much of a climb before he was stepping up across a web of vines, glancing to either side and taking in the sight of an alien dusk unlike anything he could have imagined. There were two moons rising, the light from the fading white dwarfs nothing in comparison to the steady growing green light, hindered only by bright purple. The moons were brilliant, each one unique with impact sites and imperfections, closer than the moon was to Earth. Closer than any planet he'd seen outside of training modules. He'd never been to Jupiter's moons...the mission he'd been assigned to had been his first. Everything else...had just been holograms in research labs. This...this was. _Amazing._

_Optimal timing interval between sunset and moonrise. Current remaining time before nightfall: 49 minutes. Please proceed to highlighted route._

John sighed softly, saving his thoughts for later. There would be plenty of time to stand in awe beneath the two satellites of this planet if he was trapped here for good. Better get to the bridge and figure out just how bad his situation was. He turned his gaze to the jungle, stepping across the tangle of vines enveloping the broken hull and continuing on to settle atop a patch of that strangely moving grass. The texture of the ground flowing beneath his feet was unnerving, and John tried not to focus on the way the tendrils felt as if they were trying to wrap around the ankles of his boots. He flicked his wrist to bring up the display of the surrounding terrain, mapping out the path in his mind before closing the display and turning to follow the highlighted path Rose had plotted for him. He stepped towards the closest set of trees, his neck craning as he followed the trunk up into the sky, the green and purple light reflecting from the moons mixing together high in the atmosphere and creating something resembling the auroras of the arctic on Earth. The magnetic pull of gravity felt strange the further away from the ship he walked. By the time he'd lost sight of the wreckage and was surrounded by alien flora on all sides John was definitely starting to feel unsettled.

"Rose, the gravity feels weird out here."

_Affirmative. Federation Spaceship Internal Gravitational Core is still in effect surrounding the close proximity of the Starship Mondrogosa. The gravitational pull of the planet is vastly different than that of Earth._

_So that's why I feel seasick. It's like being on a boat, rising and falling with waves._ John shivered a bit and came to a halt, checking his map and the countdown in the corner of his optics for time left before nightfall. The temperature seemed to be dropping, and the atmospheric pressure was changing as well. There was a weather indicator blinking in the bottom left of his vision and he swiped his fingers across the space before him to bring up the holographic view of the nearby terrain. He inspected the readings, then dismissed the graphics and focused once again on the highlighted path. _Better pick up the pace with the way the biome stats are changing so drastically the closer it draws to nightfall._

A whistle sounded from the trees nearby, a second following it and echoing back to the first. The sound continued back and forth for a moment before fading to silence again. John glanced around, keeping careful watch of any heat signatures between the trees, but finding none. Birds, maybe? Higher in the boughs far above, too far for his sensors to read? The exchange didn't seem threatening, like the sounds he'd heard before bumping into Karkat. It was only a matter of time before he bumped into native fauna in the region, he only hoped that it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

_Movement detected. Alien lifeforms in close proximity._

"Lifeforms? As in more than one?"

John checked his map, steering towards the highlighted path again and continuing further into the trees, the forest floor growing denser and darker here as he pressed on. The cold was causing him to shiver now and then, his suit keeping most of the bite out of the air but still not thick enough to completely block the effect. He could see fog in the air around his breathing mask, condensation building at the edge of one of his goggle lenses. Luckily it wasn't enough to cause his vision to fog. He sighed, checking the map again, then realized he was reading the same location he had been before moving further into the ticket. Oh. Crap. Was this thing not moving? Was the path not showing him the right way to go?

"Rose. Give me an update on our location. How close are we to the bridge?"

No answer. John swore under his breath and looked around, his goggles highlighting the growing darkness around him. Fuck, was he lost? Seriously? He'd better backtrack, follow his steps. He turned around, searching for footprints in the grass...but it was moving. The grass was moving. His boots weren't leaving impressions behind. Panic rising in his throat he forced himself to take a few deep breaths and called out again.

"Rose. Answer me. I need an update on distance from current location back to the ship. Back the way I came before. Can you highlight the path back to the pod chamber?"

Silence. Then that whistling again. Back and forth, louder this time. Closer to him. John looked around at the dark shadows between the trees, then looked up, staring at the swirls of purple and green twisting in the sky. He reached up, flicking off his headlights, and let the darkness take over his vision. When his optics rebooted, everything was in night-mode. His usually bright display was muted, toned down and soft to compensate for the low light. His thermal reader was up, detecting heat signatures nearby. Several of them, moving closer. It must be more Fein. Glancing around the trees and determining he was thoroughly lost, John grit his teeth and started walking across the flowing grass, heading towards the heat signatures. The closer he drew, the more sounds he picked up on. Clicking. Chirping. A squeak now and then. But all together, and rhythmic. It was a conversation. _The translator..._

Tugging one of the buds from his armor's hidden compartment, John pressed the aural device to the curve of his ear, trying not to grimace at the feel of it stretching over the shell of cartilage then settling into place. It took a few attempts at starting up without pairing to the other device, then suddenly those alien sounds began translating into English, chiming softly against John's ear.

"-harvest tomorrow. That should be enough to trade with their merchant before the next wave begins."

"We had better overcompensate to be sure. Please make note, I want the harvest monitored closely until it blooms. As soon as signs of seeding begin, uproot the east notch of the grove and migrate the remaining healthy sprouts to the new nursery. I want them ready for the next ceremony."

"Yes Belladonna."

One of the heat signatures broke away from the group, heading further into the jungle. Returning to the direction the party was walking away from, it appeared. There were three now, moving steadily through the trees and continuing to speak casually.

"I don't want the Prima to know the merchant has raised their prices. Do what you need to do."

"Yes, Bella."

"Also, see to it that the neighboring Prima receives sprouts for their grove as well. A gift of good-nature between our clans. Do it before the next wave crests, if we delay there may not be as substantial a harvest after the following wave hits. It has been rumored to drown."

"As you wish, Belladonna."

John pushed between two large tree-trunks and into the next clearing, pushing through brambles in the thicket and pausing only for a moment to read the warning flashing in his peripheral vision. Time was almost up, and the temperature was continuing to drop. There was no way he was making it to the bridge, when he'd last checked the map before it stopped synchronizing to his progress, he'd been at least 30 minutes out. Now he had less than seven. He steeled himself then focused on the heat signatures nearby. He must have been making more noise that he'd originally thought, for it already seemed that there were three pairs of ears focused on his location. One of the heat signatures stepped closer, soundlessly as if the thick flora surrounding them wasn't even there. John swallowed thickly, clenching his fist and fighting every instinct inside of him to keep from running, or flicking on the lights to his goggles so he could freaking _see_ the Fein that was approaching him. He reached up, tapping the side of his goggles to change from thermal to low-light. Everything was masked with green and purple, and something was glowing in the darkness. Eyes. Eyes fixed on him, watching him.

"What is it?"

"I...I don't know."

The first voice that had spoken, the one the other two had called Belladonna, shifted closer. It spoke again.

"What do you mean?"

There was a low growl, like a rumble of thunder in the dark. The closest Fein was growling, watching him intently, and then suddenly it let out a shout. It was jarring, a threatening sound that had John gasping loudly and recoiling, falling backwards through a bush and onto the ground with a sharp, displeased hiss. He winced, prying open one eye and looking up to see a Fein standing over him. The alien hissed as well, as if rising to meet John's challenge, and stomped one foot to the ground with an open-mouthed snarl to show off large, sharp fangs. This Fein was big, much bigger than Karkat had been. Holy fuck, this was not what he had been expecting when he'd walked _towards_ the group of Fein instead of away. He had to deescalate things before they got even worse. He held up both hands, palms up to show he wasn't holding anything.

"Whoa whoa! I'm not a threat! I'm just lost!"

The Fein standing over him paused, ears pivoting towards the sound of his voice, eyes focusing on his mask, then the layers of protective fabric hiding his throat. A low, rumbling growl churned in the Fein's throat, then one of those tall ears tilted back towards the sound of footsteps approaching through the thicket. A smaller Fein appeared, bright red eyes dilating and then narrowing, focusing on John with interest. The third Fein followed closely behind, the two taller aliens making eye contact briefly before the smallest Fein spoke.

"It's a human."

"Bella, that is...impossible."

The smallest Fein turned to look up at his two companions. "And yet, here it is. An alien. A human. Look, you've startled it silent."

The third Fein stood back a bit, observing but making no move to approach. "How did it get here?"

"How they always get here. The pull. The wave is approaching, after all."

John stammered a bit, pushing himself up into a more comfortable position and eyeing the first Fein still growling steadily nearby. "I...I just want to know how to get back to my ship. If I'm not supposed to be here, I get that. But I don't know how to find my way back. Can you help me...?"

The smallest Fein tilted both ears towards John as he spoke, flicking them to and fro while grinning, flashing a hint of his fangs. "It's trying to speak with us. Human language sounds pretty, doesn't it?"

"Sounds like nothing I've ever heard of." The third Fein replied, glancing over to the first. "It doesn't seem like it's a threat."

The first Fein quieted his growling finally, exhaling a snort through his nose and turning his attention to the smallest Fein. "Bella, it isn't safe here. We need to leave. The Prima needs to know that we made contact with this...alien being."

 _No! Not again, I can't let them leave without figuring out where I am. I have to get back to the ship before the environment completely shifts to night._ John gasped, shifting one of his gloved hands up and diving into this armor to retrieve the other translation device. He looked between the three Fein, then held out his hand, offering it to the smallest. He seemed chatty enough. John pointed to his ear, gesturing to the device and his matching translator a few times until the Fein began to understand what the human wanted him to do. Carefully, with wicked sharp claws scratching along the palm of his glove, the small Fein took the device and lifted it to his aural shell. It clasped into place, just as it had done for Karkat before, and then once the chimes sync'd up and blinked rhythmically together John took a chance and spoke first.

"I need to find a way back to my ship."

The Fein's eyes widened, and a delighted smile crossed his face.

"Ah, of course. How simple, to have thought you came from anywhere else. I should have known your origin, awoken from the ruins in waste."

 _The ruins in waste._ That sounded about right. John shifted slightly, pushing himself onto his feet and rising to full height. Like this, the smallest Fein was still taller than he was, and his companions were a foot taller each at least. John eyed the two sentries warily before focusing on the Fein speaking to him. "Can you take me back there...? I lost my way." He shivered a bit, trying not to think about the cold sinking into his skin through the thin layers of the suit. The Fein seemed to take note of his distress and twisted his ears to the side then forwards again, eyeing the human thoughtfully.

It was quiet for a few long moments before the bat spoke again.

"I will take you to the ruins."

The first Fein tensed up immediately. "Belladonna, the Prima would not-"

"The Prima is not my master. He is my Alpha." The Fein's tone was sharp, his eyes glowing faintly as he set his sights on the Fein who'd spoken up before. "He lets me do as I please. What pleases me now is helping this creature find his way back to whence he came."

"I will go back, and tell the Prima what we have found." The third Fein turned to walk back down the path the group had tread before, leaving John alone with the remaining two.

The smaller Fein hummed low, something similar to an insect's wings, a soft buzz in the quiet of the dark. "It's settled then. Come, I shall take you back to your origin point." The Fein tipped his ears lightly then stepped past John, glancing down at him briefly before continuing on. Not waiting to be told to follow twice, John started after him, keeping the other Fein in his scanner sights just to keep his nerves from becoming completely frayed. He walked along in silence for a short while, weaving through the trees and looking up now and then to follow the swirling lights in the sky. There wasn't any way he could have found his way back without guidance. This Fein was truly showing him a kindness, leading him out of the jungle. Without Rose, or a working guidance system to map out his path, he was pretty helpless out here alone.

"Thank you." He finally said, soft and relieved as the trees became more sparse and the glowing moons came into view, emerald and violet, stark against the jet black sky. John shivered a bit, glancing around the vines covering the surrounding area, searching for a breach in the hull to return to the warmth of the inner ship. The Fein was watching him, ears perked forward, the other Fein somewhat behind, looking around as if keeping watch. John smiled up at the Fein who'd chosen to help him, feeling worn out after his failed expedition. "I appreciate you helping me. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't brought me back here tonight."

The Fein hummed low in his throat, the sound resonating in his chest. It was close to a purr, John thought, though it was odd coming from an alien when it sounded so much like a house-cat. He hesitated, rubbing at his upper arm for a bit of warmth before asking, "Ah, I'll need that device back, before you go. Please. It's the only one I have, so..."

"Of course. I should think so, that you would desire your technology returned before we depart." The Fein smiled again, showing off his fangs and leaning close to John so that the human could reach up and remove the device from his ear. He paused, hovering just at the edge of the Fein's ear, gasping softly.

"Oh, I almost forgot! I wanted to tell you my name, it's John! And thank you so much again, for helping me."

The alien let out a soft sound, a laugh maybe? Then he nodded and tilted his ears towards the human once more. "It is good meeting you, John. My nameright is Kankri. I am the Belladonna of the clutch beyond the trees." His eyes flicked towards the forest, then focused on John again. "My Prima will want to meet you."

 _Belladonna... Prima... Is this translating right?_ He thought for a moment, then nodded. "Uh yeah, sure! Of course, I mean. I'd love to talk to you about your...clutch!"

Kankri made that same soft sound, definitely an amused chuckle. "Until we meet again."

John pressed the release button and took back the translator once it freed itself from Kankri's ear, the Fein giving him a little tilt of the ears in farewell then stepping away. His companion stared John down a moment longer before following after, and the two aliens disappeared off into the dark. Standing there, shivering and exhausted, John turned his gaze to the moons. He traced their curves, the grooves and dips of each impact site, each rise and deep crater. Alive. He was alive. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Fuck. He really needed to sleep.

_Gravitational pull shifting, Captain. Please proceed inside for the duration of the nighttime interval. Precautionary safety measures advised._

"Well now you decide to show up again. Thanks, Rose."

John couldn't even bring himself to be mad anymore. He found the pod room after a bit of searching through the vines leading down into the ship, carefully balancing across the beam and skirting around the edge of the pool before slipping through the doors and down the corridor to the bunker. He closed the door, checking the air-seal on the door to make sure it was nice and tight, then finally slipped his mask down around his neck and breathed in fresh air for the first time since Karkat woke him up earlier that night.

"That...did not go as planned."

_Error in topographical mapping software detected. Update needed to system software. Synchronization out of date. Map readings may not be accurate. Please use caution while proceeding to bridge._

John laughed, tossing the last of his armor to the floor before flopping back onto the bed, laying an arm across his face. "You're a little late on that. If it hadn't been for Kankri I really would have been shit out of luck. Getting abandoned out there without you or a working guide really sucked, you know."

Rose was quiet for a moment, then she responded with a little chime before her reply.

_Software update available from Starship Mainframe. Remote access to bridge systems granted to probationary Captain, due to malfunction in mapping systems. Temporary privileges of remote access will allow modifications to system. Updates should include various fixes to system errors caused by extended exposure to foreign contaminants and core overload resulting from network damage during crash. There are 14,219 updates in artificial intelligence self-learning program storage since last initiated stardate, including piloting systems. Would you like to download all system updates at this time?_

"If it'll make you stop acting so freaking glitchy, then definitely. Download every new update the system has. I'm going to sleep."

_Permission granted. Updates from bridge mainframe will commence in ten seconds. Approximate time until completion: 18 hours, 54 minutes._

"That's plenty of time for sleep." John groaned softly, rolling over onto his side, tucking his arms under his pillow and burying his face against the semi-soft cotton. "And don't wake me up this time unless it's a serious emergency. Got it?"

_System updates now featured in do not disturb mode. 23 updates successful, 14,196 updates pending completion. Progress will be muted until further notification from starship personnel._

"Good."

He yawned once, twice, then settled down against the sheets and tugged the blanket around his shoulders in a bit tighter. He was finally starting to feel warm again. He shivered lightly, tapping the display on his frames to minimize before drifting off.

Rose continued to steadily update software automatically throughout the night.

Outside, the first wave of gravity began to fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> John hasn't had any luck getting the answers he needs, but he's met a new Fein who's a bit more chatty than the first. Lucky for him, Rose is about to get some serious upgrades.  
> More next time.


	4. Outcast

When John woke up he was starving. He groaned, rolling over, blinking blearily before tapping his spectacles to clear his vision. When he was a little less disoriented he pushed himself up out of the mess of pillows and blankets he'd amassed then padded quietly to the med bay for a shower. Morning ritual complete, John reemerged in clean clothes, stretching his arms over his head and yawning loudly. He settled down on the floor before his provisions, grabbing a can of mixed fruit before checking the progress on the updates Rose had worked on overnight. Four hours remaining, but so far everything appeared to be progressing as it should be. That was enough time to formulate a new plan for tonight's attempt at reaching the bridge. He scarfed down two cans of fruit and a bottle of water before popping a few vitamins and supplements into the next can he opened, sighing and evaluating the hologram that appeared before him.

"Rose, show me the path to the bridge."

_Loading updated topographical map of surrounding terrain. Changes have been made to navigation system, new routes have been charted. Please choose from the following footpaths._

The map that appeared on the hologram was vastly different that the one he'd been using the night before. The ground surrounding his immediate location had changed dramatically. There were large ravines between the shattered ship segments, from weather or wear due to the time that had passed, John was unsure. It looked like the ravine might have held water at one point, and there were large pools of that nasty green slime highlighted at the pit of the surrounding cracks below the ship. Notably, there was a large fissure, almost a canyon in depth and length, directly between the area of the ship he was using now and the bridge he was trying to reach. The paths Rose highlighted involved venturing back into Fein territory to go around the fissure, taking a path over the broken earth in the form of a land-bridge, or rappelling down into the ravine and climbing back up the other side. Fuck. He should have known this wouldn't be easy. The simplest path went thru Kankri's territory...but it took three days just to get to the bridge. It was undoubtedly the safest path, but it was also the furthest out of the way for him to travel. John frowned and examined the other two options. The land-bridge didn't exactly look stable, it was part ground, part vines, and part broken fragments of the once massive starship. If Rose was offering it as a viable path, she must at least believe it should hold his weight long enough to allow him to cross...but just looking at it was giving John a bad feeling. Rappelling down into the ravine didn't look much safer. The pools of acidic slime highlighted on the map were hazardous enough from far above, let alone wandering through the pits and then finding a stable ascent back to level ground. He huffed, finishing off his vitamin-supplement fruit cocktail and downing another half-bottle of water, then gathered his empty cans and set them aside to reuse later. He couldn't waste anything. Recycle, reuse. There were only so many things he could do without. Bottles and cans were not on that list.

He hoisted himself up to his feet and did a bit of light stretching before readying his pack for that night. He decided to raid the lockers again, finding a thicker bodysuit better suited for the cold weather that was just about his size. He fitted it to his frame, then finished sliding on his impact helmet, vest, climbing gloves and boots. He saved his goggles and mask for last, going over the three paths once more before making his decision.

"Land-bridge it is then. Show me the way, Rose."

_Affirmative, Captain. Charting path to land-bridge. Selected footpath is the shortest distance to bridge. Estimated time of arrival after departure: 2 hours, 14 minutes. Suggested time of departure, within the next hour. To avoid the gravity shift at night, leaving before sunset is the best option._

Rose chimed a few times, the path to the bridge highlighting itself across John's sights as he adjusted his goggles over his specs. He tightened the straps of his pack and then tugged his mask over his nose and mouth. As he started his trek out of the bunker and towards the pod room Rose piped up again.

_System updates are still in progress and should finalize en route to bridge. Estimated time to completion: 1 hour 22 minutes._

"Let's just hope you don't disappear and leave me in the middle of nowhere again this time." John sighed, his sights blinking and collecting new data as he reached the hallway. The oxygen level in the unsealed chamber was slowly losing its potency with the breach in the airtight doors. He really needed to work on that the next time he returned to the bunker. He slipped through the doors and avoided the green pool then climbed up the beam as he had before, reaching the blinding surface with a little groan, lifting his hand to shield his eyes. His optics adjusted a moment later, lenses tinting to block out the sunlight still beaming down from above. Once his vision was clear of sunspots he focused on the path again. It took him towards the place where he had first bumped into Karkat. He patted his vest, making sure the translators were still safely tucked away, then began the winding route to the land-bridge. When his boots met the ever-shifting grass he almost didn't wince, but there was something about the little tendrils tugging at his feet that unsettled him. That, and the gravity was acting weird again. This time it seemed heavier.

"Rose, give me biome readings for the current sunlight interval. I want constant monitoring of the gravity fluctuations heading into sunset and nightfall."

_Gravity readings will be monitored for further research, Captain._

A graph appeared in the corner of his sights, giving him the information he requested. He paused his steps for a moment to lift his hands and bring up the bigger holographic interface, flipping through the readings with interest. It appeared that the gravity rose and fell in...waves. Like the tide. A push and pull that effected everything from the plants and animals to the magnetic pull of the planet itself, the atmosphere, the weather, the air. "This is amazing. I've never seen anything like this." He thought back to what Kankri had been speaking of before, when John had overheard them in the forest. "This must be something the Fein have grown accustomed to as the norm on this planet. They treat the change in gravity like humans tend to talk about the weather."

Sudden shadows darkening his sights and movement overhead had John jerking and looking skyward, a few avian-looking creatures flying by overhead, cawing loudly as they went. They were larger that most birds John had seen on Earth. Luckily they didn't appear to be a threat, and they were already flying far away. He wondered vaguely what the wildlife here looked like on this alien planet. Were the creatures huge? Would any of them look familiar? Or would they more likely resemble something out of a sci-fi film, dredged up from some director's wildest imagination. He sighed, lowering his hands to dismiss the interface, and continued down the path Rose had highlighted for him. He shook off the uneasy feeling of the shifting gravity and tried to focus instead on other things. The flora he passed was interesting in the sunlight, something he hadn't been able to truly appreciate on his first trip along the surface. There were several interesting varieties of brightly colored flowers, some with large thorns, others with spiraling leaves and thick vines. His sights recorded everything, logging away new information as he followed the indicated footpath, insets buzzing here and there in the distance, mainly around the ship. He frowned a little, wondering how much exposure to the ship and the broken fuel cells had impacted the biome, but he tried not to feel too guilty about the situation. Billions of years had passed, all he could do now was move forward. Soon he would have answers. Soon he would be able to access the mainframe to the star-charts and find a path to Earth. Figure out his current location. Discover what had happened to cause the crash in the first place.

An hour into the trip Rose beeped softly, and then her voice chimed in his ear as he spotted the land-bridge in the distance.

_Captain. Approaching land-bridge. Please prepare safety precautions for traversing across the chasm._

Yeah. Walking across a makeshift bridge over a seemingly endless chasm definitely didn't sound appealing. "Aren't you supposed to remind me not to look down, or something reassuring, Rose? We really need to work on your bedside manner." John continued forward, his sights spanning over the length of the land-bridge and pointing out the safest path to walk across the vines and metal pieces. This must have been part of the main hull before being ripped apart by the planet's atmosphere during the crash. He unfastened his pack, retrieving a few climbing anchors and a length of safety cable for rappelling he'd grabbed from the lockers before. John didn't know much about rappelling, just the basics from camp years ago, but he knew enough to secure an emergency catch should he fall. He took his time, finding a good spot to plant his first anchor, then approached the first length of metal framework cautiously, searching for a second place to plant an anchor in the event the first anchor didn't hold. Once both anchors were in place, he tested his weight against the restraints and then shrugged his pack back onto his shoulders. Alright. That should do. Now for the hard part.

John's boots made a metallic thud with each step, vibrating along the surface of the metal not completely covered in vines. Rose chimed softly as he continued, indicating his next steps and the speed at which he should continue, and after a few minutes had passed John began to relax. That was, until the wind picked up. It howled, causing a loud creaking sound when the bridge shifted against the walls of the cliffs on either side of the chasm. The flow of gravity here seemed to be tugging in little bursts as well, like some sort of undulating pull against his body. It was making it hard to concentrate and not feel sea-sick. It appeared to be shifting the metal he walked across as well, giving the sensation of being in shallow waves at the beach as he kept walking. It made his footsteps uneven, and Rose chimed warnings a few times when he drifted too close to the edge. He righted his path and continued on, making sure to let out a bit of cable behind him every few feet or so. This was worth it, he kept telling himself. This was so much faster than walking through the forest. It was saving so much time. Just a little bit further and he'd be fully across, and then before he knew it he'd be at his destination. He could do this. He could-

The next gust of wind howled loudly as it swept by, practically picking him up off of the metal. Then with the next gale it actually did - the combination of the upwind and the lesser gravity lifting his boots a few inches off of the metal framework and vines. For a few seconds he was suspended in the air. He let out a startled shout, hunching over and grasping at the vines until the wind passed and the gravity felt heavy again. Damn it all, he was going be sick... He reached up, pressing his hand over his mask and closing his eyes, trying to remember to breathe. This was terrifying, why did he do this. He should have just gone to Kankri, asked to walk through his territory for a few days. The way the Fein had helped him before, surely he would have allowed John to-

The wind picked up again, shifting the metal to one side as it crested, and John lurched forward. Despite Rose immediately warning him to slow down he'd made up his mind, deciding it was better to get to his feet and run across the land-bridge than take his time and suffer through any more of this. Running was something John was good at. Losing his footing and floating mid-air across several feet of metal was, however, decidedly _not_ something John was good at. He let out a terrified screech and landed hard against the bridge, rolling a few times before the rope at his waist caught him. He'd almost forgotten he was tethered. He took hold of the cable and got to his feet, checking to see how much further he had to go. He was over half-way to the other side. He could see where the land-bridge met the cliff-side. It looked like the vines had...shifted down a bit. Maybe from how hard he'd landed? Feeling a chill race up his spine, he carefully started forward again. He really, really, _really_ did not want to fall into whatever abyss lay below him. Vivid imagery of plummeting to his death was making his stomach twist with anxiety. Rose was in his ear suddenly, grounding him back to reality.

_All updates requested from system mainframe are now completed. Please proceed to highlighted route, Captain. Your pace has put your scheduled time of arrival ahead at 39 minutes._

John focused his sights on the neon green before him, making note he was currently in the yellow. He shifted his steps back to the safe zone and continued forward. The wind wasn't so bad now, but that moment he'd been airborne had been absolutely terrifying. And amazing. Ridiculously amazing. It was like playing around in the anti-gravity training rooms back on Earth. Floating around that chamber while preparing to voyage into space had unquestionably been one of his favorite experiences. Here, it had happened involuntarily and startled him. But if he could discover the pattern to the planet's shifting gravity, then somehow harness enough knowledge to manipulate it, control it. He laughed at the thought, continuing slowly forward. "If I were more knowledgeable about engineering, I might just be able to figure out a way to fly. How cool would that be?"

_Autopilot interface actively recording all data during first-hand experienced gravity jumps. Push and pull while rising to the crest of each wave should enable short intervals where simulated flying is possible. More data is needed for prolonged gravity manipulation tactics._

John grinned behind his mask, sighing shakily and pressing forward. "Let me know if you find anything interesting, Rose. If I'm stuck here forever, learning how to fly will be at the top of my to do list."

_Affirmative Captain. Data compilation will continue until otherwise instructed._

The sights kept a steady path of green stretching out before him for a while before flickering and changing to yellow. There wasn't a safe zone here. The vines closer to the other side were the only thing underfoot as John reached the end of the metal framework. The land-bridge of woven vines swayed with the smallest breeze, like a hammock in the wind. Checking his safety catch with a few little tugs against the cable, he took a moment to steady himself then cracked his knuckles and soldiered on. "Okay John, you can do this. Just...go slow." He shifted forward slowly, testing his weight against the vines. The wind was docile for now, and so while he had the courage to do so he pushed himself forward, holding his hands out on either side to try and keep his balance. He was wobbly, but successfully managed to make it nearly to the other side before the wind rose up again. This time, the swinging bridge of vines under his feet, John was helpless to remain upright. He fell to his knees, grasping at the vines as the wind and altered gravity lifted him into a floating position, gasping and clenching so tightly his gloves audibly stretched with a dull creak. He looked around, trying not to freak out, and then started laughing. Softly at first, then louder with more intensity. This was insane. "Rose! Tell me you're getting this?"

_Monitoring first-hand experiences closely, Captain._

"This is great!" He held his breath for a moment, feeling elation this time in the place of terror, and when the gravity fell again this time he landed much smoother. Weird, it felt different this time. Like he was still sinking... He gasped, glancing up just as his vision went red with warnings and an alarm sounded in his ear.

_Warning, integrity of the bridge has weakened. Recommending immediate-_

The wind chose that exact moment to sweep underfoot, and with John trying to get his footing he had nothing to hold onto. He was lifted into the air, cradled for a moment in slow-motion, the glint of the suns shining brilliant white-gold against his sights. It was eerily silent for a few heartbeats, then when gravity released him again he fell hard onto his back, crying out sharply while desperately trying to find something stable to hold onto. The vines keeping the bridge suspended above the ravine slowly snapped one by one away from the rocks they'd grown and rooted into. Rose was still echoing in his ears but he couldn't hear her, all he could hear was his own breathing, his own heartbeat. He was frozen, but he knew he had to move. Get up, get up, _get up_! He scrambled to his feet, seeking out any path he could to get to the other side. He was so close, he'd come so far, there was no way he could back out now! He let out as much slack as he could on the rope keeping him anchored to the other side, then took off at a run again. If he had to jump the last bit to reach solid ground again he'd do it. It was a last ditch effort, but at the very least he had to try. Falling down into the ravine, even with the emergency safety catch, was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

Getting across the last part of the bridge was a blur. Adrenaline coursing through his veins, he glanced up with wide eyes, reaching out a hand to grasp at the side of the cliff before him. Shit, he was going to have to climb to get to level ground. The vines were still snapping, sinking the bridge lower and lower into the ravine. He was running out of time. He flicked the hidden switches on his thumbs and reached out to cling to the rock with his spiked gloves, lifting himself up off of the vines even as they continued to snap around him. He kicked his boots into the cliff, making foot-holds for himself, but as the vines broke away the rock began to loosen and crumble around him. He grit his teeth, making new hand-holds and foot-holds as he went, slipping down the rock even with the hooks protruding from his palms and the toes of his boots. This was not good. He glanced up, searching for another hand-hold, and a vine above him snapped and sent small rocks showering down on top of him. He clung to the wall, the whole bridge shifting and swaying dramatically as another gale swept by, then when a larger vine snapped above him the heavy weight of it fell directly on top of him and nearly broke him away from the wall. He slid down several feet, managing to halt his fall by shoving his hand into a large crack between the rocks where a vine had been rooted before.

His breathing was erratic, sweat slick against his forehead and cheeks beneath his impact helmet. Then as the bridge snapped away those final few vines and began to fall into the chasm, his emergency cable became entwined with one of the vines. The rope suddenly went taut and tugged him away from the wall as it fell, twisted with loose vines, to the ground far below. All John remembered was the wind being ripped out of him as his hands came free from the rock wall. Then being upside down mid-air, his sights scanning the pools of acid far below, watching the way the bridge fragments broke apart and landed thunderously amidst the slime littering the valley floor. The way the green pools splashed, flooding the valley floor, the slime shimmering in the shadows of the towering cliffs above...it was almost pretty. Emerald glitter in the dark. For a moment his scanner seemed to pick up on something unusual, yellow lights flickering among all the red warnings blinding his vision, but it disappeared a moment later. Funny, he was falling to what was likely his death and his sights were still doing their job - recording information, taking in each and every detail. He wondered if his records with Rose would ever be found by another wandering researcher lost in space. If this would be the final chapter for his ship, his crew. He wondered if anyone even knew his name.

In a flash everything stopped moving. He jerked to a halt, his arm caught on something. Had he managed to grasp a hand-hold in the rocks again? He tore his eyes away from the ravine, looking up towards the sky, eyes widening when he realized it wasn't the cliff he was clinging to. It was a Fein. Karkat. His breath caught in his throat, the alien reaching down and cutting him free of the cable that was dragging him down into the chasm with razor-sharp claws, then tugging him up easily as if he weighed absolutely nothing. Karkat...was floating in mid-air. They were floating. Caught between two waves of gravity. The Fein kept a firm grip on his arm, watching him, ears perked towards him while John gathered enough wits to speak. To say anything. But he couldn't, just choked on a sob, reaching out and clinging to Karkat's arm as the Fein held him suspended in mid-air. The bridge was still falling, rocks from the cliffs still tumbling down into the pools below. Karkat chirped a few times, trying to speak to him, but John was not in the right mindset to think about retrieving the translators and so he wasn't able to understand what Karkat was saying. The Fein eventually shifted his grip to John's shoulder and tugged him up towards the sunlight, then settled the two of them back on solid ground after what seemed like an eternity hovering in weakened gravity. The bat watched him, John still clinging to his arm, and then finally the two met each other's eyes and John could only smile and laugh weakly between relieved sobs.

"I was...so fucking...scared..."

He reached down, threading his fingers in that weird, moving grass. The little tendrils wrapped around his fingers in a light embrace, and John finally realized that the flora must have evolved to help keep things on the ground when the gravity was weak. It was trying to keep him from floating away. He let himself cry, let all that tension and relief wash over him and out of his system, his goggles ventilating the fog he was creating and absorbing his tears. He sniffed and absently wiped at his face, though his goggles and mask were in the way for the most part. So he settled for reigning in his breathing and composing himself the best he could before looking up to meet Karkat's eyes again. He let out a shaky exhale then dug into his chest compartment, retrieving the two buds and offering one to the Fein while pressing its twin to his ear. A few chimes later and the devices were connected, Rose's voice ringing in his ears again.

_Pairing successful. Proceed with experimental communications._

"What the actual fuck do you think you were doing out there?!"

John's eyes widened, mouth open to speak, but Karkat was there first with a frenzy of questions. He sounded...angry, almost. Definitely upset.

"Do you have any clue as to how dangerous it is _walking_ on something like that? Above a fucking pit? Are all humans complete and utter idiots or are you just a rare unfortunate breed representing your species to the rest of the galaxy? Unbelievable!"

"Karkat, I-"

"If I hadn't been there, you would have been crushed, strangled, drowned, buried alive, who knows what could have happened! Do you understand the danger you just put yourself through? And for what? I left you alone on _purpose_ so those from the clutch would _help_ you, idiot! I saw Kankri bring you back the other night, I know he helped you when you got lost in the forest! Why didn't you take the long way around? The safe way? Why are you even trying to explore the rest of this ancient wreck anyway there's _nothing here_ I've been through the carnage a million times since I was outcast! Are you insane?!"

John lifted his hands, trying to calm down the alien ranting before him. Karkat was flushed, his eyes narrowed into the smallest slits John had ever seen, his fangs bared and arms waving wildly with broad gestures as he continued to give John a colorful earful. Even with the translators doing their thing he was still having a hard time keeping up, especially with some of Karkat's more choice curses. A few must not be translating correctly, or the words just didn't exist, because some of the clicks and chirps merely left gaps in Karkat's speech. Maybe because the previous conversations Doctor Harley had with her companions didn't have anything comparable for the translators to refer to? John just waited, listening, watching Karkat and blinking away the last of his tears in awe of the creature before him. Then he laughed, softly at first, then growing more hearty as Karkat's voice slowly softened then stopped completely. The bat was frowning at him, fangs giving him a little pout, and John just shook his head and finally stood to his feet. He took a few steps closer to Karkat, then reached out and touched his arm, careful that the spikes in his gloves were retracted. He wondered if he had hurt Karkat before, when he'd held onto him during the fall.

"Thank you, Karkat. Thank you so much for saving me."

Karkat let out a soft warble. Embarrassed, maybe? He watched John, pivoting his ears towards the human and finally softening his features.

"Don't do something like that again, alright? You aren't built like us. You're...fragile. You just got here, I don't want you to die already."

"I don't want to die either. I'm sorry." He let out a long sigh, squeezing Karkat's arm a bit before he spoke again. "I didn't mean to upset you. I'll be more careful from now on."

Karkat turned his ears away, one tilted to the side while the other shifted back towards John again. "You put yourself in danger over nothing. What were you trying to achieve, did you come all this way just to see more of your ship?"

That's right. He'd made it to the other side. He released his hold on Karkat, turning to look towards the wreckage nearby. He tapped his optics, calling out for assistance.

"Rose, can you find a way into the hull from here?"

_Highlighting path to main doors in ten seconds. Inner chamber contaminated due to exposure to alien atmosphere. Breathing mask required. No fuel cells detected in immediate area. It is safe to proceed to bridge via highlighted path._

Once his sights were aligned John turned away from the cliffs and began walking across the grass towards the ship. He glanced back to Karkat with a smile, nodding towards the direction he was heading. "Come with me, if you've explored here before maybe you can help me. I'm looking for the bridge, where the Captain's logs are saved in the ship's mainframe computer. It should hold information on where we are, how I got here, and the reason why my ship crashed on your planet in the first place."

Karkat tilted his head a bit, flicking his ears to and fro for a moment before following after John. "What does it matter, these ruins are ancient. All that information is from ages ago..."

"I need answers, Karkat. I have to know." John climbed up onto the first series of vines, heading towards the top of the fragmented dome that had once been the main hull. "I'm the only human alive on your planet, right? I want to know what happened to those who were here before me. I need to know."

Karkat watched John for a moment then started walking up the side of the ship. He was barefoot, John noticed, and the claws on his feet were big, much bigger than those on his hands. He didn't seem to follow the same rules of gravity as John, who was practically crawling up the vines to reach the top level. By the time he was on his feet again Karkat was circling the dome, looking for a way inside. He found one after a moment, looking over at John before jumping down into the chamber below. John walked over to the edge, looking down into the interior. Karkat was already wandering off, and John clambered down after him, falling on a thick layer of plush ferns and soft moss with a little grunt. He struggled to his feet and followed after Karkat, who was walking through the darkness without hesitation. John reached up and tapped his goggles to switch to low-light readings, and then hurried after his companion.

"How did you grab me like that, before? When we were in the air?"

Karkat glanced back at John, slowing his steps until the human caught up. The corridor they wandered down was quiet, empty. The lights didn't seem to be working, and John could hear the dripping of water somewhere in the background. "What do you mean, how?"

John thought for a moment, trying to find the right words. "Humans...can't do that. We can't just float like that. Or fly. Anything to do with defying gravity, we have a hard time with."

"Fein learn to read the waves, feel for them. You can sense them in the air. When you feel the crest rise and fall, you can ride them." He looked to John, obviously amused, his lip curled up over one fang. "Even small pups know this. Some Fein can merely float, others can shift their own center of gravity with the pull. They can ride the waves higher than trees. This is what you mean when you say "fly", right? When the height of the wave takes you far above the ground?"

John nodded, following Karkat as they continued into the depths of the ship. The Fein seemed as if he knew where to go, and for now John was content in following after him. He was still a bit shaken from the incident with the land-bridge. "Flying is something humans have reached for as long as we've existed, and you basically did just that. You caught me like it was nothing. You were so strong..." He gasped softly, "That reminds me! The door to the pod room, that door was sealed shut when I awoke. Did you...break the seal to come find me?"

Karkat paused his steps, hesitating before looking at John. His ears were twitching, twisting this way and that before settling back slightly as if worried the human was upset. "Yes, the doors were shut before. I opened them. I followed your scent, that is how I found you after we saw one another that first time."

"I thought so." John offered a little smile. "It's alright, I'm not mad or anything. It's just that, before you broke the seal that entire hallway was airtight with stable oxygen levels. Now, I have to wear my mask when I'm outside of the bunker or med-bay. Do you think you could help me fix it later, when I head back? Your strength seems to be a lot greater than mine."

Karkat watched John for a long moment then nodded. "If you think I can help, then I will try." He turned from John, looking ahead, nodding towards the doors at the end of the hallway. They were pried open slightly, and the path Rose had shown him before matched up with this area as well. This...was it. They'd reached the bridge. John stepped closer, squeezing through the gap in the doors and looking around the large room. There was a giant screen in the middle of the room, a few books stacked here and there, along with research papers and sketches. Empty cans and bottles were discarded haphazardly across various surfaces. The space looked lived-in. They must have been here; Dirk, Jade, and the others who had survived that decade on this planet, cut off from the only world they'd ever known. It was solemn here, quiet. Eerie. Like a tomb. "I told you before, there's nothing here." Karkat was fiddling with a stack of papers nearby, his back to John. "I've been outcast long enough to have explored every inch of this place on my own."

John frowned a little, glancing around. The power was cut off here for some reason, this area wasn't like the area he'd awoken in at all. "Rose? Can you power on the main grid so I can access the mainframe?"

Rose was silent for a moment before replying. _Engineering Personnel Operations Manager Dirk Strider disabled power to the mainframe as a precautionary measure. Engineering Systems Operator fail-safe orders can be contradicted and overridden by First Captain permissions. Do you wish to return power to the main hull and restore operations to the bridge?_

"But why would he have disabled it in the first place?"

Rose didn't reply, merely continued with her previous statement. _Please confirm your consent to Operational Management Guide System R.O.S.E. - Starfleet Regulation Autopilot Communications System. First Captain John Egbert, do you consent?_

"Override whatever you need to, get the power back online. You have my full understanding and express consent."

Karkat was near the big screen in the middle of the room when the power began flickering back to life. There was something coming out of the speakers in bits of static and music, and the Fein immediately ducked his ears, pressing them down close to his skull and covering them with his hands, backing away from the monitor quickly before it whirred to life. The screen lit up first, then the surrounding modules. Then the entire wing began lighting up like a Christmas Tree - multicolored lights flashing and twinkling in the darkness before the overhead lights buzzed to life and lit up the domed chamber. Karkat hissed for a moment before blinking at the lights until his eyes adjusted, then he padded over to the monitor again when the audio corrected itself and the picture cleared. It was a group of humans, talking together. A recording of some kind of meeting. Dirk was there, and Jade. The others John didn't recognize. There was a hologram in the middle of the room, bringing up a picture of the planet and the ship wreckage littered across the surface.

_"We have looked everywhere we can think of. We just can't find any other survivors."_

__

__

_"There were hundreds of soul aboard the Mondrogosa. You're telling me we should just give up? Just because the pods we have found so far haven't-"_

__

__

_"Every. Single. Pod. Every single one we have checked, that has read positive for a life signal, has been wrong. There are pods scattered for hundreds of miles in every direction. We cannot keep running around on wild goose chases. Jane nearly lost an arm during that last run, and Roxy..."_

__

__

_"Roxy did what she had to do. We can't change her decision. She made up her mind."_

John walked closer, standing near Karkat. He glanced over at the Fein, who was watching the screen with interest. The translator seemed to be working well enough for him to listen to the audio playback too.

_"Regardless, we can't just give up. We have to keep searching. Keep trying to do what we can for the others that are still out there. My brother wouldn't give up on me if he were the one awake and I was still out there, asleep somewhere in the wilds. Who knows how long it'll be before-"_

The audio cut out with a bit of static and the video skipped ahead a few frames before shutting off completely. A menu popped up on one side of the screen, showing that the contents of the mainframe were slowly reloading. It would take some time before John could access all of the data files, but there was only one he was really searching for.

"Can you show me what happened the night of the crash?"

Rose was silent for a moment before the screen flickered with feedback then an image of Jupiter appeared. Holy shit, this was it. This was right before they were set to dock for their mission on Ganymede. There wasn't any audio, it was quiet. Then a shooting star streaked by. Then another. Coming from the direction of the sun, shooting out towards Neptune. There was a blinding light, then a shower of debris coming from behind, pushing the ship forward, propelling it through space. John turned away from the video feed, moving to a large hologram table in the middle of the room where the Captain's starfleet maps were stored. As the video played out, it showed the ship moving through the Milky Way, through uncharted space John knew nothing about, before finally landing in a galaxy he didn't recognize. It was...not too far from the Milky Way, zoomed out like this. But John knew enough about galaxies to know they were eons apart even if on the charts the distance looked relatively small. From this point, he couldn't even make out the planets he knew. He reached out, poking at the hologram so it zoomed in on the galaxy they currently resided in. He zoomed in further, glancing over at Karkat when the Fein joined him.

"So this is us, there. Two moons, right?"

Karkat nodded, his eyes narrowing a bit and his ears flicking before he too reached out to touch the hologram. It responded to his touch, zooming in further to focus on the planet and the surrounding satellites. "Yeah. This is home. There are other Fein here, and here." He pointed out two other planets nearby. One was smaller, and did not have a moon. The other was about the same size, and had three moons instead of two. They all seemed to be clustered together, orbiting around one another, sharing some central point of magnetic pull. Karkat shifted and zoomed in a bit more to see the details of his home planet. He seemed fascinated, as if he'd never seen his home world in such a way before. "Outside of that, I don't know much. If you were to travel to High Society, they might be able to tell you more. I've never seen a platform like this before, but I've heard tales that the Fein in High Society have access to maps like these."

"High Society?"

"Yes. I...haven't been there. But all Fein know of High Society." Karkat moved both hands over the surface of the hologram, zooming in further on the map. The mountains were visible now, the forests, valleys. The ocean. It looked like a strange mirror version of earth, though all the continents were different shapes and the coloration of everything was odd. "This. This is High Society." He pointed to a cluster of lights in the mountains, a giant city under what looked like an artificial biome dome. "It is a place where elite clutches are bred and held. Rarities. Most omega travel there, live their entire lives there. Alphas too." He pulled back his hands, crossing them over his chest absently and looking to John. "It's rare now for traditional clutches to exist outside of High Society. My former clutch, Kankri's clutch...it is one of the few traditional remaining in the wilds."

John was trying his best to keep up, but this was a lot of new information he wasn't quite sure what to do with. "So...there are Alphas...and omegas. And this place, this is for the elite Fein. It's like their own little paradise?" From the look of the artificial dome surrounding the entire area, they must have advanced technology. Perhaps the dome was to shield them from the fluctuating gravity?

"There are betas too of course, but they're the norm. They inhabit most of the planet." Karkat began looking around again, wandering around the other side of the hologram table and examining the map while speaking. "Alpha and omega are dying out, they're uncommon. High Society accepts them all, regardless of their clans, their clutch, their colors, ears, or fins..." Karkat gestured to the smaller set of ears on either side of his skull. "Mine are relatively normal. One point fins are the most common, I should say. Two-point fins are rare, and some even have webbed fins that fan out and expand with multiple points. These mutations are regarded as rarities. They treat us like collectors items." His tone was...bitter. John couldn't quite place it. He made it sound like this place was not all what it made itself out to be. Not a sanctuary, but a cage. The Fein continued with a little bit of annoyance in his voice, his ears flicking now and then as he reached out and poked at the map once more. "Certain colors are in high demand too. I know dusk is hard to come by, speckled, rouge." He flicked his eyes up to meet John's, his crimson irises glowing faintly with reflections of the hologram. "High Society asks for any and all omega and Alpha to come to them, to be assigned to one another. To breed together, and prolong the life of our species." He chuckled softly, but it was a hollow sound. "Once there are only beta left on this planet, our species will slowly begin to wither and die. Then fade completely. There will be nothing left of us. It will be as if we never existed at all." He sighed, spinning the planet in a slow circle, examining the various biomes strewn across the surface of the world. There were so many clusters of lights, so many cities. Karkat focused on one area, zooming in. It was dark for the most part, with very few lights. Karkat spun the image around slightly and John gasped when he recognized the ravine. There they were, that was the ship. The lights from the captain's bridge were easily visible in the darkness surrounding the forest. Karkat spoke up again after a long pause, frowning and prodding with his claws at the ruins of the ship. "It's pointless. The end of our species is inevitable. The fact that they gather us together and force us to breed with strangers is absurd."

John looked up from the map, following Karkat's gaze. He looked angry, but he was being so quiet about it. There was something he wasn't understanding about the information Karkat was giving him. "So you and Kankri...with those red eyes. You're considered rarities meant for High Society? Why are you out here then? It seems like this area is about as far away from any kind of society as you can get."

Karkat shrugged, dismissive. "Kankri is the Belladonna of the clutch. He found his Prima, he is happy with his life. He wants for nothing. The traditional values of the wilds appeal to him."

He tried to get his companion to open up a bit more, poking a little at the map and trying to sort out where Kankri's clutch might be hiding in the forest. "Yeah, but what does all of that mean? I get a clutch is what you call your village or people, but what do the other words mean? I overheard Kankri saying his Prima was his Alpha, does it have something to do with that?"

Karkat nodded absently, glancing away. His ears were lowered a bit, and he seemed uncomfortable for some reason, but he continued to answer John's questions. "Kankri is the head omega of my former clutch. They refer to that position as Belladonna in traditional clans. The head Alpha of the clutch is known as the Primadonna. Some go as Bella or Prima, if they prefer not to speak their full title at all times. It is up to their preference, and the clutch will respect and follow whatever they say." His voice was soft, almost reverent. "The clutch will always respect and follow all things regarding their Prima and chosen Belladonna. That is tradition. They are valued in the clutch above all else."

John laughed a bit, trying to lighten the mood. "It sort of seemed like Kankri was a big deal. With the way he talked, and acted. He had guards with him too, when he found me in the woods."

"He is a big deal, I suppose." Karkat mused, his ears pivoting forward. "Being Belladonna comes with a lot of responsibility. He does the best he can. He does what he thinks is right, anyway."

John was quiet for a long while, just watching Karkat. He wasn't sure if he should ask about anything so personal so soon, but he really wanted to ask Karkat why he was out here all alone. Karkat didn't seem comfortable with this line of questioning, but he hadn't downright refused John information, and he was more than grateful for the insight on the alien society he had been thrown into. He looked around the bridge, glancing towards the screen nearby to see how many videos were finished loading. He walked back to the monitor and selected the next video in sequence after the crash. It looked a bit shaky, like someone was walking around with a hand-held recording device. A girl's voice was calling out softly in the audio. It was a foreign language John couldn't understand, but the translator device picked up on it well enough to give him bits and pieces while she wandered the wreckage. She was lost, confused. Looking for someone. John flicked through the next few video segments. Most were the same. The crew waking up, searching for other survivors, trying to figure out what happened and where they were. It felt...strange, watching others go through the same ordeal he had just dealt with himself. But comforting as well, in some twisted way.

"I was expecting you to ask me about being outcast."

John froze momentarily, his back to Karkat. He listened to the sounds of footsteps drawing closer, looking over at the Fein as he approached. He laughed somewhat nervously, relaxing again, reaching up and rubbing at the back of his neck sheepishly. "Ah, that. I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk about it or not. I'll gladly listen, if you want to share that with me. But I don't want to pry. You've already told me so much about your world. I have a lot to learn, I guess."

"You have lifetimes of information at your fingertips. I'm sure you'll catch up."

Karkat's tone was lighter this time, and he flashed his fangs in a little smile. John smiled too, laughing a bit and nodding. "Thanks for coming with me, this was...nice. Having someone to talk to."

The Fein nodded, one of his ears tilting to the side as he broke eye contact and looked towards the doors. "I...should go. I've lingered long enough. No doubt the clutch heard the bridge fall. Patrols will likely be out, Kankri will have sent them looking for you to make sure you're alright. We can't be seen together."

"Karkat?" John started, but the Fein was already walking towards the door. "Wait, please? I...I don't really know how to get back from here." Karkat paused, glancing over his shoulder and meeting John's eyes. It wasn't...completely a lie. Sure, he had Rose to guide him, but that wasn't what he was getting at. "I can't stay here for more than a few days, I only brought provisions for a short trip." He paused, biting his lip, then tried again while walking closer. "This side of the ship seems dead compared to where I've been staying. Kind of...creepy, being in here alone." He grinned a bit, hoping Karkat would offer to stay. Did he really need to ask so directly? How embarrassing, he felt like such a child not wanting to be left alone in his own ship. But the air in here was...different. There were so many memories here, so much lingering from those who had passed on. He almost felt as if he were trespassing on something that should remain untouched.

Karkat lingered in the doorway, thinking no doubt. He stepped away from the door, took a few steps towards the human before him, and then with a long sigh he said softly, "I never much liked being alone in here either." He tucked his ears back briefly before lifting them again, focusing his attention on John. "I'll stay, but I'm warning you. It is dangerous being with me. Spending time with me can only end badly for you, John."

John let out a little relieved sigh, grinning and reaching out to pat Karkat's arm. "Don't worry, it's plenty dangerous without you around too. At least you'll be close by to keep me out of trouble!"

Karkat laughed, and it was such a brilliant sound, a mix of a warble and chirp that was more birdsong than alien. It had John beaming behind his mask. Maybe this was the start of something new he could hold onto, if there was nothing to go back to. He had to make a new future for himself. Hopefully Karkat would be along for the ride too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> John's finally reached the bridge, but the information he's getting from the mainframe seems like it might be a dead end after all.
> 
> Karkat, however, is full of interesting new information.  
> Could High Society's advanced technology hold secrets about the humans that came before him?  
> With help from his new companion, can John find a place for himself in an alien world? 
> 
> More next time.


	5. Revival

Though the humans who had lived in the starship giga-annums before had during their stay consumed all existing oxygen in the bridge and surrounding areas, rebooting the ship's mainframe systems surprisingly and effectively restarted the Main Deck Oxygen Concentrator. This sent a power surge through the ventilation systems, successfully refreshing quality standard pressure systems, and after a short delay for maintenance updates began to amass oxygen; enough to kick-start decontamination in several smaller sealed rooms branching away from the main bridge. 

John's optics recorded everything as he explored the ship, careful to thoroughly explore each new room that was opened, sights quickly cataloguing their revealed contents. One was a med-bay, completely devoid of any and all medical supplies. The purification chamber was split down the middle, spider-web cracks across the entire apparatus from various impact points, glass shards scattered across the floor. It looked like it had been shattered by brute force, giant fists pounding into glass with a strength much more powerful than any human's. Surely there was a story behind the damage, though John doubted he would ever know. The door adjacent the med-bay revealed a lounge room and food bay, abandoned dishes and dusty chairs shuffled haphazardly around messy tables, a pile of empty cans and bottles stacked precariously in the back corner against the far wall. There were several whiteboards lined up against the same wall, scribbles of formulas and planned repairs mapped out across the surfaces in different colored ink. Plans that it seemed were cut short, as the bridge was still in quite the state of disarray. It was haunting, witnessing first-hand how quickly their lives seemed to end, the realization sending shivers up John's spine. He left the second room with a little frown, glancing towards the holodeck where Karkat was still occupying himself examining the galaxy floating above the captain's table. He exhaled shakily, steeling himself to investigate the final room, reaching for the hand-panel and waiting for the door to unlock. The final room was a bunker, dirty clothes strewn across the floor and all the lockers open to reveal empty hangers and remnants of bodysuits and other various bits of gear. Casting his gaze across the room, John noticed several beds that had been pushed together were unmade, but there were a few at the end that looked untouched still spaced apart in traditional fleet fashion. As soon as this room had enough oxygen for him to breathe without a mask John planned on falling asleep in one of those cots, he was exhausted from everything that had happened thus far. He needed to rest. Before that though, he needed to figure out how to be around Karkat without his breathing mask on. He'd rather not sleep with it if he could find a way around it.

John thought to himself for a long while, formulating a plan. Tapping his scanner he returned to the med bay and sought out the shower located on the opposite side of the chamber, examining the mechanics. The shower seemed to still be functional, but the water had been depleted ages ago. "Rose," he called, hearing the computer chime in response to his query, "Is there a way for me to manually feed water into the aquifer supplying the shower system to generate more H2O?"

Rose paused a moment before replying. _Affirmative. Shower feed can be converted to self-reliant recirculating specifications._ She paused another moment before adding, _Required H2O needed to begin recirculation and rejuvenation process: 1 liter._

"That's just about all I have left." John said under his breath, leaving the room to return to the bridge. He walked past Karkat, retrieving his backpack from the floor and beckoning for the Fein to follow him as he returned to the med bay. The bat followed after him, watching him curiously, entering the med bay after him and looking around the interior of the room with wide eyes. He took his time, stepping into the waiting room then beyond to the examination chamber, careful to avoid stepping on any glass while examining the broken pod nearby with soft confused clicks, refocusing on John as he spoke. "Alright, so I'm not sure exactly how effective this will be, but I wanted to try something." He was already following the highlighted steps Rose directed him through as he continued, opening his water canister and pouring the liquid into a hidden compartment near the base of the shower, clicking the panel closed again once he was done. "I can't breathe around you for long because of the contamination from the jungle. I'm not sure if it's toxins from the fuel cells, or the planet is toxic in general, but I'm hoping that with a little help I might actually be able to breathe around you without infecting myself...again." Going through the process of decontaminating his lungs was not high on his list of things to do that night or any night thereafter. Judging from the shape of the healing pod he'd probably have to wait until they returned to the east wing of the ship before he could do anything about the spores growing in his lungs anyway. Yikes. He thought back to the pictures he had seen of Doctor Harley and her Fein companions, she hadn't been wearing a breathing mask in those pictures. There had to be a way for him to interact with Karkat without environmental equipment separating them. "What I'm getting at is I think a shower might help cleanse your body of some of the toxins in the air. So…" He reached over and flicked the shower sensor on with a wave of his palm, the mechanics hidden in the wall taking a few moments to process his contribution then renew before water began raining down from the ceiling above. "Would you be willing to try this? Just to see if it works?"

Karkat watched the shower in surprise, ears pivoting towards the sounds of machinery beyond the wall, then to John, and back to the water raining down overhead. He stepped a bit closer, reaching out one of his clawed hands, and let out a soft croon at the feeling of the gradually warming water. "I don't see how this is supposed to help, but I have no objections." He tilted his ears back, then forward again as he looked to John, "Is there some sort of cleaning substance you would have me use?"

Soap! Right, he'd almost forgotten. Turning to dig through the nearby cabinets he managed to scrounge up a half-bar of soap and a mostly empty bottle of shampoo, bringing it to Karkat with a little grin. "Oh, and I'll need to hang onto that until you're out of the water!" He offered Karkat the shampoo and soap before reaching up and touching the nanofiber stretched across his ear. "I'll find you some clean clothes to wear, you're about my size so I'll let you borrow something of mine if I can't find anything lying around in the bunk room. The water should recycle so take as much time as you need!" He gave his companion a little grin before flicking the release catch to take the translator from his ear. He took a step back once he had successfully retrieved the device, shuffling backwards towards the waiting room and giving the boy a thumbs up before turning around and exiting the med-bay, intent on finding clothes and something to use for a towel. Humming to himself as he wandered back and forth between the bridge and sealed rooms, John managed to find a few clean shirts and a pair of sweatpants in the lockers, and a towel that had been shoved in a drawer in the kitchen that appeared to be clean despite having not been folded. He dropped his backpack beside one of the cots before returning to the med bay with his findings, stepping through the door and calling out as he walked through the waiting area, "I found some things! Want me to leave them here for you?" John glanced up at the sound of movement, startled to see Karkat walking towards him, dripping wet, water pooling under his feet as he walked closer.

"I can't understand you, idiot. You took the translator, remember?" The Fein replied with a little frown, gesturing towards his ear. John laughed and shook his head, gesturing back towards the shower, ushering Karkat to return to the water so the floor panel could soak up and recycle the water he was dripping everywhere. "You didn't show me how to turn this thing off either." Karkat griped, ducking his head under the stream again.

"Alright, alright, hold on." He swiped his palm across the sensor again to deactivate the stream of water, then offered the bat the towel he was holding with a sheepish grin. Karkat continued frowning as he took the thin white fabric and began patting himself down, John watching his movements, surprised to see just how furry the alien's skin really was up close. His fur was a brighter shade of rouge around his face, and down his neck and chest, his fur fading back to a darker hue as John's eyes traveled down along his underbelly. The rest of his body was covered in a visibly fluffy layer of dark fur. He hesitated only for a moment before setting the clothes he was holding aside atop one of the nearby counters and moving to unclasp the protective locks at the wrists of his gloves, sliding one off at first, then the other. When Karkat shifted the cloth up one of his arms, ears flicking towards John's movements, the bat paused his movements and became very still. They stood like that for several moments, facing one another, unmoving, then John reached out slowly and hovered just above Karkat's arm, looking up and meeting his red eyes. He hoped the request would translate, even without verbalizing his intent.

Karkat watched him in turn, then gave a little definitive nod, granting John permission. Exhaling shakily, tense with a hint of nervousness and a rush of excitement, he closed the final distance between them. Holy shit. Karkat was _soft_. His skin was warm, much warmer that he'd expected. Like a heating blanket covered in rabbit fur. He pet along Karkat's forearm, admiring the sinewy cords of muscle hidden beneath his dark, rouge-tinted fur, breathing shakily as he wrapped his fingers around his forearm as much as he could, flattening his palm against his fur in wonder, marveling at the sensation. Remembering himself, he pulled back his hand and met eyes with his companion, giving him a broad smile and two thumbs up before gesturing to the towel in his hand. Karkat waited a few long moments before he resumed his actions, returning to drying himself off, still watching the human before him with an unreadable expression. What was that look for? Was it...rude of him to not offer Karkat the same exploration? He clicked through his optics with his fingertips long enough to read the oxygen levels were stable in the room, and there appeared to be no traces of contamination save for Karkat's discarded clothes, before reaching up and pulling off his goggles first, then his breathing mask. The hologram lenses of his spectacles flickered as they adjusted to the low lighting, recording interface switching from his goggles to his frames. Inhaling deep and exhaling audibly he began pulling off layers of protective gear hiding his skin from view; setting aside his helmet, pulling his vest off overhead, then unlocking the safety belts across his ankles and kicking off his heavy climbing boots. Careful of a few stray shards of scattered glass near the shower, he stepped towards Karkat, the boy frozen again, watching his every move with steadily dilating eyes. It was unsettling being watched like this, but he knew the bat had no intentions of harming him. He'd just saved his life. The vulnerability he was feeling would be the same around anyone he assumed, undressing was always an intimate act, and Karkat was still practically a stranger he'd only just met. Still, despite that, he wanted to reciprocate. He wanted to show Karkat he trusted him.

His fingers moved to the hidden seams along his shoulder and throat, peeling back his bodysuit slowly, the thick layers of insulation releasing his body heat and causing John to shudder as his core temperature adjusted to the room. He unzipped all the way down to his hips, shoving the suit down over his waist, his skin-tight under armour clinging to his chest and abs as he stood up straight again. Karkat was watching him intently, then when John lifted one of his exposed arms the Fein reached forward, touching his forearm with a soft twittering sound that resembled curiosity. He let Karkat pet along his skin, a mock repetition of the path he had taken before when he had touched the alien's fur, and when Karkat's claws drug lightly across his skin it caused goosebumps to pop up along his arm, his body twitching lightly with a pleasant shudder. Karkat twittered and chirped again, drawing back his hand slightly before readjusting his position, taking a step closer and smoothing his palm all the way up John's arm from his wrist to his elbow. He lingered there, ears twitching towards the minute sound of the pulse fluttering in the bend of the human's arm, then moved his hand up to John's biceps, squeezing the muscle lightly, his claws barely digging into his flesh. John grinned and flexed under his hand, proud to show off the lean muscle he had acquired from working out at the fleet training center before setting off for Jupiter. It had taken quite a bit of work to get this in-shape, and even more work to maintain his workout regiment once aboard the spaceship, before entering hypersleep. Karkat drew back suddenly, glancing towards the countertop and chirping softly, then looking to John again and motioning to his ear. He wanted the translator again. John walked over to his impact vest and retrieved the bud from the hidden chest compartment, returning to Karkat and offering it to him. The Fein adjusted the device in place and once they had paired began speaking almost immediately.

"Why are you so smooth? Where is your thermal layering?" He gestured to John's exposed arms as he spoke. "Your lack of fur is astonishing, your protective insulation is virtually nonexistent!" His tone was elated, reaching out to touch John's skin once more as he continued. "Does your lack of fur mean your species relies heavily on fabricated means to prevent injury due to environmental exposure?"

John laughed as he replied, amused at Karkat's eagerness. "Yeah, exactly! We just wear lots of different clothing depending on what the weather is." He watched Karkat explore his body, claws drifting across his shoulders and chest, teasing at the dark, tight fabric for a moment before moving to the other side of his body and examining that arm in turn. "If it's cold outside we bundle up, if it's raining we wear rain gear…"

"This reaction, what does it mean?" Karkat asked, gesturing to the goosebumps across John's skin, the human shivering a bit at the sensation of his claws tracing down the veins of his arm. "It is unpleasant for me to touch you here?"

"No! No, it's not that." John quickly replied, laughing softly and rubbing at his arm to try and calm his sensitive skin. "Your claws are really sharp, and I can tell you're being careful when you touch me, so when they graze lightly across my skin like that it makes me shudder." He offered his arm to the alien again, reaching out his free hand to pet Karkat's soft fur. "It's alright, don't worry. I would tell you if something was wrong."

"Good." Karkat's voice was soft as he petted John's arm slowly, watching the way a simple, light press of his claws would leave temporary pink marks against the human's skin before fading away seconds later. It was quiet, the two boys exploring one another, the shower dripping softly against the tile floor, and then the Fein whispered softly. "I can't remember the last time I was touched."

Arching his brow, John looked up, meeting Karkat's eyes. There was a soft, sad expression across his face, and when he realized John was watching him his ears tilted back and he glanced away. Unsure of what to say, John stepped closer into Karkat's space and moved to wrap both of his arms around him, giving him a light hug. The shorter fur of his underbelly was impossibly soft, shifting lightly against John's exposed skin, warmth quickly spreading up his arms and chest where they touched. He felt Karkat tense as he hugged him, but when he felt John's arms settle around his frame he responded, shifting his arms up around John's waist and returning his embrace hesitantly. This was nice, like being hugged with the softest heating blanket ever created. Karkat seemed to be experiencing somewhat of the same realization, pressing closer to John as if enjoying their shared warmth. He chirped softly, turning his face up to press against the side of John's neck, inhaling quietly against his throat, just below his jaw. He shifted against him hesitantly when John made no move to pull away, pressing his nose to his pulse and staying that way, breathing softly. John was unsure of exactly what the bat was doing but allowed him to do what he liked, slowly rubbing one hand up and down Karkat's back in a soothing manner, fingers gliding through his soft, dark fur. Karkat's hands moved across his under armour, claws pressing against the fabric and tugging slightly as he tightened his grip, keeping John close. The silence was heavy between them, and eventually the human spoke up, asking quietly, "Are you alright, Karkat?"

The bat hummed against his pulse, a low warbling sound that vibrated through John where they pressed together, his heart fluttering at the strangely pleasant sensation. "You're warm. Your skin is so soft, and you smell good…" He breathed softly against John's throat, sighing softly as he inhaled against his pulse again. "Your scent is unlike anything I've ever tasted before..." He pressed his face a bit more into John's neck before exhaling with a little huff and pulling back, John noticing the rouge highlighting his features was more pronounced than before. Was...Karkat blushing? "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have, without asking. I-" His words cut off and he took a step back, dropping his hands and turning away from John slightly, casting his eyes away, his ears down. John wasn't sure what that sudden response was. Embarrassment? Shame?

Lifting his hands defensively, John replied quickly, "No, no it's fine! I'm the one who initiated contact without asking, you just looked really sad and I…" He thought for a moment, searching for the right words. "I didn't want you to be. So, I hugged you…" He reached up to rub the back of his neck, trilling his lips as he audibly exhaled, wondering if he had breached some social taboo. "Is that...something Fein usually do?" Karkat perked up his ears a bit, one ear shifting towards his voice. "Was it weird of me to hold you like that?"

"You don't...understand what it means?" The alien asked softly, glancing up at John with a little pout, his fangs showing slightly as he asked, "You don't realize how intimate what just happened was, do you?"

John felt his face heat up at Karkat's tone, he sounded just as vulnerable as John had felt when stripping off his suit before. He reached out, finding one of Karkat's hands and squeezing lightly, giving him a bright smile. "Nope! Not one bit, but I'd be happy to learn? If you'd teach me?"

Karkat nodded after a while, flexing his hand lightly against John's, then he glanced towards the counter behind him. "I...can explain. Perhaps I should dress first?"

Laughing nervously John quickly retrieved the clothes he'd collected for his companion and turned his back to give Karkat some privacy as he dressed. Welp, he hadn't thought about that; Karkat being naked the entire time they'd touched. Now that he acknowledged it he couldn't stop blushing, embarrassed beyond belief. He had reached out and held him while Karkat was naked, still wet from the shower. He'd entered his personal space, embraced him without asking for express consent... Surely that wasn't something friends would do in any society, human or alien. He was an idiot. He really hoped he hadn't offended Karkat just now, maybe if he apologized again he could try to explain he didn't mean any disrespect? But the way Karkat had responded, the way he had hugged John back...that had to mean something positive resulted from their interaction, right?

When he heard footsteps he glanced over his shoulder to see Karkat, giving the boy a smile and nodding towards the waiting room. "Do you uh...wanna sit?"

Karkat shrugged and stepped past John into the other chamber, the human following after him and plopping down in a cushioned chair next to the Fein once he'd taken a seat, turning his body to face him head on so Karkat would know he was listening. They watched one another for a few minutes in silence, then finally Karkat started to speak. "Scenting is very important in Fein society. Regardless of presentation as Alpha, beta, or omega, it is a sign of trust and affection between us, and is typically shared with clutchmates and closely bonded only." He gestured to his throat, to the silvery scar etched into his skin. "We have scent glands on either side of our necks, as well as our wrists and inner thighs. Sharing your scent with another is a way to express yourself; to show your loyalty and dedication, to strengthen your bonds, to anoint another with your protection, or to seal your most solemn vows." He flicked his ears back and forth as he spoke, his explanation slow and calculated. "Scenting can be platonic, romantic, or sexual, depending on who it is with and the circumstances behind the initial advance." He searched John's eyes, continuing. "What you just did, approaching me, after opening yourself up to me...that was a huge display of affection and trust. It-" Karkat's voice was shaking a bit as he tried to finish. "It meant a lot to me, that you would seek out to hold me, unprompted. Baring your skin, showing me your vulnerability, letting me scent you..." He took a breath, watching John with a soft expression. "I can only assume you did this with the intention of comforting me...in response to my words?" He gave the human a small smile when John nodded his reply. "You decided on your own to take my emotional wellbeing into consideration, and reached out to me to comfort me, even without knowing exactly how to do so." His ears tilted towards the human, his red eyes watching John's bright blue. "I...can't remember the last one to act with such selflessness towards me. Everyone is always wanting something from me, demanding things I am unwilling to give. But you...you're so...different." He tilted one ear away before exhaling softly through his nose, John noting the rouge of his cheeks was showing through his dark fur once more, a sure sign of being flustered. "I'm just not certain how I should respond." He hesitated then glanced away briefly before meeting those blue eyes again, adding, "Typically I would not respond so emotionally, but as an outcast I am touch starved, and your scent, your warmth is-" He had to break eye contact, letting out a shaky exhale and clenching one of his fists in the stretchy grey fabric of his oversized sweatpants. He leaned a bit closer to John instinctively, and John leaned closer as well, their shoulders brushing.

"I'm sorry if I did something I shouldn't have." His hand moved up to touch Karkat's back again, brushing gently through his soft fur peeking out from beneath the edge of his shirt. "I wasn't thinking, I reacted instinctively, and I never intended to overstep your boundaries or upset you…" He watched Karkat carefully, the bat furrowing his brow and frowning lightly, shaking his head, speaking up quickly to reassure John of his actions.

"No, I liked it. You didn't do anything wrong." He looked up, giving John a soft if not pained smile, as if he was hiding the finer details of what he truly wanted to say. "Teach me how to do the same for you. How do I show you what this means to me, the way this makes me feel...?" His eyes were bright, his expression open. "How do humans express such emotions to one another?"

John thought for a moment before he replied. "We do this; we talk about our feelings." He nodded a bit as he spoke, "We hold hands, hug one another, we pet our hands across one another's skin to convey closeness or try to soothe or reassure one another, to create a safe space." He smiled and stilled his movements against Karkat's back, bringing attention to his hand before petting in slow, rhythmic passes along his spine again. "There's casual intimacy, like cuddling or running our hands through the other's hair, trailing our fingertips across their skin in patterns." He thought back to how he had felt in that moment, the overwhelming desire he had to reach out and touch Karkat for the first time without gloves. "It can be innocent curiosity, or desire. If the connection is mutual, and you want to express yourself as more than just platonic, there's kissing, or...sexual things. Those things usually take time to build trust before they happen, but once you're comfortable with your partner and able to communicate your desires freely there's hardly any limit to the ways you can express yourself to one another."

Karkat was listening intently, his large ears fixated on the sound of John's voice. "Then, you touching me now...it is meant to show reassurance, and soothe me?"

The human laughed a bit as he nodded, then slowly pulled his hand away, offering his palm to the bat. "Uh, yeah! That and...I just like doing it, really." He flexed his hand a bit as Karkat reached up to trace the lines of his palm with the tips of his claws, John watching him with a happy smile. "If you think I'm soft and warm then you're on a whole other level! Your fur reminds me of a rabbit!"

Karkat wrinkled his nose and looked up to meet John's eyes, his ears twitching a bit as he tried to understand. "That word you just said didn't translate. What is it called again?"

"Rabbit!" the boy said again, sounding it out slowly for the alien. It took a few tries but eventually Karkat's clicks and chitters echoed back the word in almost perfect English, John excited to teach what he could and learn more about alien culture. He gestured towards his neck with his other hand, asking curiously, "When you pressed your face to my throat before, were you trying to locate my scent glands?"

Karkat looked up from where he was examining John's fingers, his eyes dilating and his cheeks rouge. He opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again, warbling softly and lowering his ears a bit, thinking. He shifted in his seat, his hand moving up slightly to trace the pulse-point in John's wrist. "Yes...I wanted to…"

Seeing Karkat was clearly embarrassed, John laughed softly and moved to clasp the boy's hand, lacing their fingers and squeezing lightly, noticing for the first time the small webbings between those dark digits. "It's alright! You don't have to worry about that. If you want to, you can do it again. I don't mind."

Karkat watched him, nodding after a while, acknowledging his offer. He didn't move closer, opting to return his gaze to the human's palm instead. "You said before, to show affection, humans...kiss? What is that exactly?"

Another word that didn't translate into alien dialect. John wondered how many things Doctor Harley had archived into the translation database before communications between her crew and the Fein had been snuffed out. "Kissing is when you put your mouths together." He watched Karkat as he spoke, the bat looking up at him with a confused expression. "Well, you can kiss other places too, anywhere really. But generally when humans talk about kissing it's mouth-to-mouth."

Clearly not understanding the concept, Karkat asked slowly, "You...put your mouths together? How do you breathe?"

John laughed at that, clearly not expecting kissing to be such a foreign concept to the alien, taking Karkat's hand and lifting it up to his face, pressing his lips against his dark fur softly. He pulled back a few seconds later, grinning at the Fein's bewildered expression. "That's a kiss. You do that to one another, to show your affection. But like I said, it's generally pressing your lips together, and sometimes using your tongue if that's something you like."

"You aren't afraid to hurt one another? Wouldn't you cut your tongue?" The alien reached up, pressing claws against his mouth curiously, opening up a bit to reveal the sharp pointed fangs inside.

John opened his mouth too, revealing blunt teeth with only slightly pointed canines. Much different than the alien's anatomy. Karkat chirped softly and leaned closer, examining John's teeth but making no move to touch. When he closed his mouth after allowing Karkat to examine him, John added with a smile, "Guess it's not something your species would do! For humans though, it's really nice. I haven't kissed anyone in a long time. Dating wasn't really at the top of my priorities when I was on Earth."

The bat's ears perked up at his words, tilting his head a bit to the side. "Earth…? Is that what your planet is called?"

John beamed, grinning wide at how quickly Karkat had picked up the pronunciation. "Yeah, that's exactly right! My home planet is called Earth, and Earth's solar system is in a spiral galaxy called The Milky Way." He tapped his right temple, double-checking his optics and ensuring that his sights were still recording. He wanted to be certain he would have this information on record. "What is this planet called?" Karkat made a soft verbalization, staring at John expectantly. John tried to mimic the animalistic sound, something between a vibrating growl and a chirp, but his vocal cords were not designed to produce such variations, and he wasn't really able to replicate it. He apologized sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his head. "Sorry, I guess your language is a bit more complicated than mine."

Karkat shrugged, but there was a small smile across his face. He flicked his ears towards the countertop a moment later, the large pinnae pivoting restlessly as if picking up something John couldn't hear, his slit irises reflecting a small, flickering light. Focusing on his sights, John reached up and tapped at the edge of his frames, optics panning out before him and highlighting a flashing yellow icon just outside of the bridge, appearing at the bottom of the deep ravine. Rose hadn't said anything for a while, and John called out to her, concerned she might be malfunctioning again.

"Rose? What's the scanner picking up out there?" Maybe it was Fein coming to investigate the land-bridge collapse, as Karkat had suggested before. It must have felt like a rockslide to those in the immediate area surrounding the crash site.

 _Evaluating distress signal emitting from life canister 77-48-0111, located at bottom of chasm adjacent to captain's bridge._ The flickering light highlighted the immediate area and showed an expanded image, a life-pod almost fully submerged in bright green slime, sinking further into the pool, a large piece of ship debris weighing it down. _Beacon activation may be due to malfunctioning pod being struck with fallen debris. Dense toxins in amassed liquid left behind by environmental fuel cell contamination is obstructing definitive analysis._ She bleeped several times, the image flashing from different angles before zooming out again. _Further evaluation is required._

John frowned a bit, then stood to his feet and began redressing, shrugging back into his bodysuit and reequipping his boots, vest, gloves, and helmet after securing his mask and goggles. Karkat was watching him as he dressed, standing up and following after John when he beckoned him, re-entering the Captain's bridge. He went to the holographic table and pulled up the display Rose had presented, pivoting it towards Karkat with a flick of his gloved fingers. "See this? This pod is sounding off a distress signal. Looks like it might have been hit when the ship's wing fell down into the ravine. Rose is evaluating the signal but there's too much interference with all that nasty slime covering the pod."

Karkat clicked his tongue softly, reaching out and pinching the image to zoom in, turning the pod around in circles to try and find a different angle that might reveal a better view. "So...you want to go investigate?"

John nodded, watching his companion. "We might as well, right? It's the first time Rose has picked up anything resembling a distress signal, or any sign of human activity other than my own." He looked down at his gloves, wondering if his gear would be able to handle such direct exposure to the toxic slime. "The problem is, that stuff is deadly to humans, and I'm not sure if my suit can handle being submerged for very long if we have to try to pry that thing open under the water..." He glanced up at Karkat, wondering aloud, "Your body chemistry is different than mine and might not have such adverse reactions, but I don't want to put you at risk either…" He crossed his arms over his chest, looking around the various noxious green pools along the bottom of the cavern, and the giant clusters of thorny brambles crawling up the side of the cliffs through the dark. "Coming into contact with that stuff can't be good for anyone, and we don't have a functional rejuvenation chamber here at the bridge." He looked to Karkat, his tone serious. "If something happened, and one of us got hurt, we'd have to head back to the bunker where you found me before. There's a fully-stocked med bay there, state of the art technology meant to heal just about anything short of death." He grimaced a bit at the thought, shaking his head. "Though hopefully neither one of us ever have to use it to its fullest extent."

Karkat walked around the table and gestured towards the large double-doors leading away from the bridge and towards the outside world. "Let's see what we can do once we get there. If it's a false alarm we won't have to be concerned, we'll just take a look around and leave." He flexed his shoulders and arms a bit, his ears vibrating slightly as he focused. "This time of night the waves are dense, they will be easy to ride. We shouldn't have any trouble descending to the bottom and looking around a while before ascending."

John grinned, excitement showing as he followed after Karkat, leaving the bridge behind. The mainframe was still downloading and updating various systems since rebooting, and Rose was tasked with working on making whatever parts of the ship she could operational, and pulling all data from the archives the humans before had left behind. This included all personal data entries, unlocked with express consent under Acting Captain's orders. Soon John would have access to everything remotely, and could access the bridge at any time even off site. He left his backpack behind, not sure if he would return for it or not, but the contents it held were just a few rations and rappelling gear. If they headed back to the bunker he wouldn't really need any of it right away. He was more concerned with how they were going to handle the toxicity levels in the air once they reached the bottom of the chasm. Karkat didn't seem that concerned, but John was despite the alien's calm, the bat pausing atop of the ship to look down at John as the human climbed up the vines after him, grunting with effort as he pulled himself out of the breached hull. They made their way down the side of the ship to the ground below, walking to the edge of the cliffs above the huge ravine, John approaching cautiously and looking to Karkat with a soft, nervous laugh. "So...can you show me how to manipulate gravity, like you did before?"

Karkat was vibrating again as he listened to the passing wind, his ears wide and face turned up towards the light of the purple and green moons. He didn't reply for a while then he flexed his toe-claws against the ever-moving grass and kicked away from the surface lightly, easily levitating above the cliff and turning to look back at John while hovering in the air. "It's hard to describe, it's more sensation than anything." He shifted his weight and glided through the air, back and forth above John's position. "When you feel the pull move your body into it, allow it to carry you. Don't tense, don't be afraid of it. Just let go."

"Just let go. Right." He took a step towards the edge of the cliff, shaking out his arms and hands with a nervous flick of his wrists, listening to the wind, waiting to _feel_ whatever sensation Karkat meant. He focused, waiting for something to happen, and then the gravity fluctuated and he had the sensation of being in water again, wading into the ocean, feeling the push and pull of the tide as the current tried to draw him out to sea. Trusting Karkat to catch him again if he started to fall, John stepped forward into that sensation, kicking away from the ground and closing his eyes tightly but trying not to tense, throwing his arm out to either side to try and retain some semblance of balance. He didn't feel that tell-tale sign of dropping vertigo that accompanied a sudden fall, and gingerly he cracked open his eyes and looked at his surroundings, seeing nothing but open air stretching out around him. Holy shit. _Holy shit._ He was flying.

Karkat chirruped and circled around him, coaxing him further into the wide open expanse directly above the ravine, then when the next wave of gravity pulled he reached out for John's wrist and tugged him along, the gravity helping them smoothly descend. It felt a bit like riding a rollercoaster, his stomach swooping as they rode the gravity shifts in rolling waves, up and down with the passing wind in a wide spiral. Karkat landed first, touching down on solid ground several yards away from a giant glittering emerald pool, a thick green haze stifling the air and tingeing everything nearby in sickly green. The slime here was intense, John coughing behind his mask and blinking away tears as he tried to breathe regularly, taking a few moments to steady himself once the gravity allowed him to walk on his own two feet, tapping his goggles to focus his sights. Rose flashed warnings across his vision the moment he touched the interface, but he dismissed them and quickly focused on the flashing lights emitting from the distress beacon instead.

"Alright Rose, show us what we're looking for. Where's the pod buried? We don't have a lot of time." He looked over at Karkat who was wrinkling his nose in disgust but seemed to be breathing alright despite the miasma, stepping forward to follow the path she highlighted for them.

_Approaching wreckage in fifty yards, Captain. Proceed with caution, soil is porous and will continue sinking as it is walked across._

Great. Alien quicksand. He definitely didn't want to linger very long. Karkat walked closely after him, the bat's sharp eyes focusing on the surroundings easily despite the dark. He pointed out the pool they were looking for even before Rose could chime up about reaching their destination. "There's something there, under the water. It's making noises, like the voice you speak to." He gestured to John's optics, the human tapping his scanner to dismiss the trajectory path, calling out to Rose.

"Evaluate and assess toxicity of the slime pools and surrounding area. Can I wade through this stuff without it eating through my suit, Rose?"

_Calculations indicate bodysuit integrity at 89%. Current integrity is capable of withstanding approximately 7.5 minutes of direct exposure before acid-digestion reaches critical erosion levels and risks exposure to internal layers, compromising unit. Thermal insulated bodysuit is not crafted to withstand prolonged contact with such chemicals. Direct exposure to skin will cause immediate contamination and require regulatory decontamination as quickly as possible. Proceed with caution, Captain._

"Give me a countdown timer in my sights the minute we enter the water." John looked to Karkat, watching the bat circle the pool and draw closer to the pod. The top of the canister was exposed, but crushed under the weight of the debris from the land-bridge, and John could faintly make out the outline of the life-pod where it was submerged beneath the slime, cautionary lights flashing along the side causing the dark green waters to flash alternating pulses of neon green and lime. It looked like it was over waist-deep, considering how much of the canister was out of view. He exhaled shakily and looked to Karkat, calling over to him as he started wading in, "Alright, let's see if we can shift any of this debris first. You're a lot stronger than I am, think you might be able to move it?"

Karkat stepped into the slimy water as well, lifting his arms towards the large metal piece of debris laying directly across the top of the pod, trying to push it to the side, but it barely budged at all. Hissing and growling as he shouldered the weight of the wreckage and began to lift, Karkat attempted to move the beam again, but the metal creaked defiantly and settled back into place as soon as the Fein pulled away. "Doesn't look like it's going anywhere anytime soon." He tilted his ears towards John, then looked past his shoulder at something in the darkness and bared his fangs, hissing loudly. Knee-deep in sludge, John froze and glanced over his shoulder slowly, catching something in his peripheral vision. A figure was approaching them, another bat, much taller and broader than Karkat, his sights immediately starting to focus on the creature and catalogue data. One of his ears was missing, the right side pinna jaggedly ripped off half-way down the middle horizontally. His stride was long, his steps echoing across the walls of the canyon as Karkat stepped up to John's side and stood in front of him protectively. John watched as the other bat stepped into the moonlight streaming down from above, his blue eyes narrowing as he focused on them through the green haze. He was dusky black and grey from what John could see, several silvery scars etched into his arms and across his chest, a dark bundle of cloth wrapped over his waist and down his legs, his toe-claws giant compared to Karkat's. He was huge. Karkat let out a shout, barking threateningly and growling louder, baring his fangs as he stepped closer. "What are you doing out here, Equius?" He snapped, claws twitching as he advanced forward, sheltering John behind him.

The bigger bat stepped forward, frown accenting his large protruding fangs and causing his face to carry a natural pout, his one ear twitching towards the sound of Karkat's voice as he rumbled, "Came to see if you were still alive, actually." He shifted his weight from foot to foot, looking uneasy beneath Karkat's glare. "Don't sound grateful or anything, it's not like I should even worry about that skinny neck of yours."

Karkat scoffed and released the tension from his shoulders, clicking his tongue and pivoting his ears to the side. "If you're showing up unannounced at the most inconvenient of times, you might as well make yourself useful. Come help me." He shifted in the slime, turning to look at John and gesture towards the bat slowly approaching them. "It's alright, he won't challenge you. That brute has had a pale crush on me since long before I was outcast. Just stay out of his way."

Not fully understanding what his companion meant, John quickly looked up again as a shadow fell across his frame, watching with wide eyes as the scarred bat stepped forward, following after Karkat dutifully, giving the human a wide berth and reaching up to assist Karkat as the smaller bat tried shoving away the debris again. This time it budged easily, Equius and Karkat pushing the ivy-encased metal aside with a thunderous clamor, John stepping closer to the pod again and inspecting the cracked glass across the front while the bats bickered back and forth.

"You know you shouldn't be here. If your Prima finds out you've visited me he'll-"

The other bat snorted, displeased at Karkat's reaction to his presence. "For all I knew I'd find your mangled corpse down here. What the hell are you doing interacting with this... _thing_?" He looked to John, who lifted his head a bit and glanced between the aliens, then returned to feeling around the outer lip of the canister door, searching for a safety catch beneath layers of hardened slime. "Is it the reason the ship fell in the first place? What happened? Why are you with it? What have you been _doing_?"

"It's none of your concern!" Karkat said dismissively, walking through the pool towards the pod, opposite the side John was examining. He was up to his chest in thick sludge, and John was submerged almost as deep, keeping an eye on the counter Rose had set for him at the edge of his sights. They only had a few minutes left. Karkat, seeming to sense John's distress, chirped and asked quietly, "Is there something else that can be done to help?"

John sighed, pulling his gloves away from the glass and replying back softly, "I don't know." Rose chimed as he addressed the computer, asking for any assistance she might be able to offer. "Any ideas, Rose? Are your readings any more definitive now that we're this close? The door feels like it's jammed and I-"

A sudden slap against the inside of the glass caused both John and Karkat to recoil with respective shouts, John's eyes going wide as he quickly returned to the life-canister, trying to peer inside. The glass was foggy with condensation and slime, and he couldn't make out anything inside other than shadow, but suddenly that slap sounded again, and John could make out the outline of a hand-print pressed to the inside of the glass, trying to push out the door of the broken pod, unsuccessfully. Oh. Oh fuck. There was someone alive in there. Karkat was just as surprised, staring in shock at the hand slapping against the glass, chittering and clicking as he examined the jammed door. He looked to John for a moment, then turned to Equius. "Think you can lift this onto dry ground?"

The bat clicked his tongue, his displeasure evident in his expression and movements, but he didn't argue with Karkat's request, merely complied. He stepped into the water beside the smaller two, the slime rolling in choppy waves with his movement, splashing across John's shoulder and chest, specks of green clinging to one side of his goggles, mask, and exposed cheek. Gross. Definitely heading to decontamination as soon as they were out of here. With a bit of effort the dusky bat managed to get a grip on the bottom half of the canister and hoist it out of the thick mud, shoving it forward towards the edge of the pool so it slammed flat onto the ground, the glass door facing upward towards the light of the moons, John and Karkat scrambling out of the slime to stand beside it. Equius was already knelt down beside the door, prying it apart with his grotesquely huge claws, air rushing into the chamber when the broken catch was forced to release, harsh coughing sounding from within. John surged forward and hoisted himself up onto the side, leaning over the edge so he could look down into the padded chamber, his sights whirring and flickering as he reached inside.

The astronaut was already wearing an oxygen mask from the pod's emergency supply, covering his face with both hands and recoiling away from the ultraviolet moonlight after being trapped in complete darkness. John quickly tugged off his gloves and reached inside the closest compartment, searching for goggles, pulling those defensive hands away and pressing the goggles to the astronaut's face, securing it in place and pulling back a moment later to allow the other human room to breathe. "You're alright now, we've got you! Just breathe. Can you hear me okay? Can you see?"

The boy beneath him groaned, coughing again and blinking up at him as his goggles adjusted, red eyes peering up at him and causing John's breath to catch in his throat. Wait. He knew this boy. He'd seen these eyes before. This was Dirk's lost little brother, the one he had searched for until he'd met his end.

"Dave? Dave Strider?"

The other astronaut blinked up at him, reaching up to adjust his breathing mask over his face while John retrieved his discarded gloves, carefully sliding back into them while avoiding touching the slime coating the outside layers as much as possible. Bewildered, his tone hoarse and accent hinting at a southern drawl, the boy replied, "Uh yeah, that's right." He blinked up at John, furrowing his brow a bit. "Do I know you, kid?"

Kid? They looked like they were the same age. John laughed a bit and reached down to tug at the straps secured across Dave's chest, smearing a bit of slime across his bodysuit. "Not exactly. Let's get you out of here and I'll explain the best I can." He tugged at the mechanism holding Dave securely to his seat, clenching his teeth as he tried to jerk the lock free to no avail. He pulled back and rested against the frame of the pod for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts and catch his breath. They were going to have to cut him out. "Are you injured? Can you run self-diagnostics?"

Dave grumbled an affirmative reply, still groggy, calling out to the computer system as John had many times before. "G'mornin', darlin'. Care to run a stretch of diagnostics for me, Rose? Let's see what we're workin' with here…"

John listened to her response through their shared communications wavelength, their scanners automatically synchronizing together to create a local chatter operating system as was the norm per fleet regulations. _Greetings First Class Special Engineer David Elizabeth Strider. Running requested diagnostics._

"I've told ya before, darlin'. Call me Dave. David Strider is my father."

_Affirmative, Specialist. Diagnostics will conclude in approximately 12 minutes due to lapse in mainframe connectivity. As a precautionary measure, please proceed towards nearest medical bay for manual assistance. Catalogue is currently missing 328,596,182,793,960 daily routine maintenance logs for Engineering Specialist, from startdate 0309-469-295 to present._

John tensed slightly at her words, Dave blinking again and shaking his head before responding. "I'm sorry darlin', run that by me again?" John sighed, exhaling shakily, waiting for Rose to respond. He could already tell this was going to be a very long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finding another human still alive in the wreckage was the last thing John expected. With Dave’s abilities as a First Class Specialist Engineer, will the two astronauts be able to access further reaches of the ship’s mainframe, and delve deeper into the surviving memorybanks for more answers?
> 
> Thanks for reading! More to come!


	6. Synopsis

Responding to Dave's confused inquiry, Rose repeated her previous statement, including further details in her response. _There are currently 328,596,182,793,960 daily logs missing for your assigned catalogue repertoire, including an additional factored 1095 offline daily logs in hypersleep en route to Ganymede, Specialist._ She paused for a moment while calculating before her voice chimed up again. _Engineering systems show 89,120 documented updates available since last requested access to archived artificial intelligence database by engineering personnel. System requires rebooting and secured connection directly to starship mainframe before commencing extended quantity downloads arranged in order of highest importance. Please proceed to bridge at your earliest convenience to synchronize data._

Dave looked up at John who was watching him apprehensively, trying to offer him a reassuring smile through his slime-splattered breathing mask and goggles. He spoke up again when John made no move to clarify or correct the computer's statement, asking once more for clarification, still obviously in disbelief. "I'm sorry, sugar. I hear what you're tellin' me but the numbers just aren't makin' any sense. You're tellin' me that I have over 328- _trillion_ logs missing from the daily catalogue?"

_Affirmative, Specialist._

"Uh-huh." He was quiet for a moment, searching John's eyes, then slowly opened his mouth to speak again. "What's today's stardate, Rose?" The computer chimed for a moment before replying, John bracing himself to gauge Dave's reaction.

_The current stardate is 0900-572-983-783._

Hearing Rose state the stardate still didn't quite register for John either. It had already been nearly four days since he'd awoken, though it felt like just hours ago. He really needed to sleep. Dave was quiet for a long moment, then started laughing softly, a sound of utter disbelief as he met eyes with John, shaking his head again. "Can you believe that? Thought my brother would have worked out all the kinks in the A.I. by now after all these years of programming, but sounds to me like Rose should be running her _own_ diagnostics, huh? Wait until he gets a load of this. 0900-572-983-783? Good grief! " He laughed a bit louder, waiting for John to respond and perhaps even join in his amusement, but his laughter died down when he noticed John's uncomfortable grimace. His face tensed, the engineer reaching up and grabbing onto the other human's arm as John reached back down to initiate another attempt at freeing him of his restraints. "Now wait a minute, kid. Just wait. You're tellin' me that she's right? Is that stardate accurate?"

"Yeah, I think so." He glanced up to meet Dave's eyes before focusing on the restraints again. "I mean, I just woke up a few days ago myself, and literally just gained access to the ship's mainframe database a few hours ago...but everything I've seen so far leads me to believe that's a pretty accurate stardate." He pulled back, defeated, hanging loosely from the side of the canister and lingering a few moments before he withdrew, adding, "Rose is usually right about everything when it comes to that stuff, and it's not like I have anything to compare it to anyway. Most of the logs are cut short or corrupted from the crash even after running diagnostic repairs."

Dave was listening to him, his face blank as he tried to process the information he had been presented, clearly overwhelmed. He hesitated a moment, then asked quietly, "How many others survived?"

Before he could answer, the alien at John's side spoke, his claws tapping lightly across the side of the pod. "Are you okay in there?" Karkat chimed up, John feeling the bat press closer to his shoulder, his fur sticky from being submerged in slime. "Do you need some help?"

John rose up a bit from leaning into the pod and glanced over at his companion, looking between him and the larger bat standing nearby silently, his one giant ear turned towards them with mild interest. Meeting Karkat's eyes, John nodded a bit and gestured down into the canister. "His safety catch won't release. I think we're going to need to cut him out of there." He looked down at the other astronaut who was still watching him, undoubtedly trying to figure out who he was talking to, then said gingerly to Karkat, "He's still pretty disoriented, and I'm afraid seeing you guys might freak him out even worse, but I don't have anything sharp with me to cut him loose with. Can you try?" Karkat nodded when John looked to him again, but before he could begin to climb up beside him the human lifted his hand, asking him to wait. "Uh just...give me a second to try to explain. I don't want him to accidentally hurt you or himself trying to fight or get away from you while you're helping him out."

When he redirected his attention to Dave, the astronaut was watching him warily, glancing towards the side of the pod where Karkat's voice had been before. "What...was that? Who are you talking to?" He met John's eyes, searching for some sort of explanation that might make sense. "It sounded like some sort of animal...a bird maybe? How…?"

"Yeah that's…" He tried to think of the best way to phrase it, to reassure the other human he wasn't in any danger. "He's my friend. His name is Karkat. He's one of the Fein, the indigenous species of aliens that inhabit this planet."

Dave continued staring at him, utter disbelief across his face. "You're talking to an alien? And somehow...he can understand you?"

John nodded, tilting his head and gesturing towards the nanofiber stretched over his ear. "Yeah, we located experimental translators in one of the research labs. We've been using them for the past few days, one of the research professors created them specifically for Fein communications. I've only found one functioning pair so far, but there might be more in her office..." He thought back to the other Bluetooth-esque devices he'd left behind in her lab, wondering if any of the other sets were operational. "We could take a look once we make it back to the bunker...but Rose is right. We should probably get you to the med bay first." He glanced away from Dave to Karkat, giving the bat a little nod before returning his eyes to Dave. "Now, Karkat's going to climb up here and help get you free, so don't freak out. Okay?" Dave nodded, his eyes darting around the podspace as he tried to pick out any sound hinting at the alien's approach. Assuming that was as much of an explanation he could summarize for now and Dave truly comprehend, John pulled back, sliding down the side of the canister til his feet touched the slimy ground. He felt disgusting despite the layers of protective gear separating him from the slime, the too-thick mud beneath his boots slowly sinking under his bodyweight and the weight of the pod. Wrinkling his nose, John coughed a bit and stepped aside to allow Karkat more room to climb, smiling weakly as he gave his companion a thumbs up. "Alright Karkat, he's all yours."

Karkat chirped softly while climbing up onto the canister, positioning himself higher than John had before. He evaluated the interior, bracing himself against the frame of the door and planting his feet on either side, digging his dewclaws and the sharp talons of his toes into the metal for footholds. He glanced towards John for a moment then disappeared down into the inside of the canister from the waist up, shuffling around for several moments before emerging again. He repositioned himself, shifting to one side of the frame and reaching down to help tug Dave up and out, able to lift him easily now that he was unbound. The astronaut was wobbly as he climbed up atop the canister, trying to get his bearings, Karkat carefully helping him slide down the side of the pod to John, who reached out to steady him as well until his boots met the muddy ground. Dave let out a soft pained groan as he slumped against John's shoulder, Karkat quickly moving from atop the pod to Dave's other side. The human watched him in awe as the alien slid up under his arm and held up his light weight, his clawed hand cupping Dave's side to shift his weight off of John.

"Uh...howdy?" Dave drawled, Karkat's ears pivoting towards him as he chirped a soft greeting in reply, the bat turning to look towards Equius who was still waiting nearby.

Karkat stared at the other bat, neither of them moving. Growling impatiently, the smaller bat finally stated, "We need to get back to the surface. I can't carry them both."

John watched the two bats for a moment, tuning them out as they started to argue, glancing up at the glowing moons shining light down into the toxic chasm and feeling for the fluctuating gravity as he had before. He jumped a bit, experimenting, then when he felt the gravity roll over him he kicked off hard, wobbling as he hovered in the air, Karkat looking up at him with a bit of surprise. "I think I can manage, as long as we go slow."

Dave watched him hover above the ground with unbridled amusement, snorting out a surprised laugh and reaching up to cover his mouth with his hand, bumping against his mask before remembering it was there. "Tell you what, kid. This is the weirdest, most realistic, hypersleep-induced tomfoolery I ever did lay my eyes on." He shook his head, wobbling a bit as he turned towards Karkat, the alien careful of his claws as the human shifted, scratching lightly against his bodysuit to try to keep him still. "Last time I tripped this hard I'd had about two too many brownies outta Santa's special cookie jar, y'know what I'm sayin'? I just…" He shook his head again, looking up at John. "Unbelievable detail. I mean look at those moons. Beautiful…"

Karkat glanced towards John, the human laughing nervously and riding the next wave of gravity a bit higher, arching further away from the ground. From the way Dave was acting he was probably concussed, or suffering from oxygen deprivation, or a combination of that and endless other possible ailments. Who knew how long his pod had been submerged in the sludge, exposed to the ravine's dense miasma and thick, radioactive slime. They needed to get him to the med bay as quickly as possible. That general rule of thumb went for John and the bats as well; while the Fein might not need medical treatment John knew for sure he did, and lingering here couldn't be good for any of them. He looked between Equius and Karkat, who still seemed to be stuck arguing about their next step. Biting at his bottom lip for a moment before speaking up to interrupt them, John asked hesitantly, "Can you manage getting him out if I try to fly on my own?" The smaller bat glanced towards him as he hovered near his shoulder, John watching him with an awkward little smile, looking between the two aliens. "Is there a way for me to help at all?" He gestured to Dave, reaching out a hand. "Maybe we can-"

"I've got him." Equius grumbled, stepping forward towards the smaller bat, reaching for the human and freezing in place when Karkat bared his fangs and hissed.

"You _have_ to watch your claws, and don't hold on too tight, understand?"

Equius frowned a bit deeper than before but gave a slight nod, Karkat allowing the bigger bat to take the human from him before kicking off and taking John's wrist, tugging him along as he began to ascend. The trip out of the ravine seemed a lot quicker than their spiraling descent, and when they were once again on surface level John breathed out a sigh of relief. If they never went down there again, John would be fine with that. He never thought he'd enjoy the sensation of alien grass clinging to his muddy boots, but in this moment he relished the sensation. He turned, looking over at Equius and Dave, the bat holding onto the human with a frown but remaining silent, giant in comparison to the astronaut's lean frame. Karkat stepped closer to the larger bat after a moment, reaching out to take the human back, drawing Dave against his side and turning his back to Equius. He walked ahead, beginning the long trek back towards the bunker, not bothering to give the other bat any thanks. John hesitated only a moment before following after him, glancing back at Equius to see the larger bat was coming along too.

The newly awakened astronaut was unresponsive for the most part, muttering to himself now and then as he shuffled along beside Karkat. John trailed after them slightly, looking up at Equius with a nervous little smile. The other bat wasn't wearing a translator, and wouldn't be able to understand anything he said, so John looked to Karkat and asked, "How do I say 'Thank you' in your language?"

Karkat glanced back at him over his shoulder as he continued to walk, narrowing his eyes a bit at first, then relenting as he said the phrase in his native tongue. John listened intently, focusing on Karkat's words with his left ear, repeating the words back a few times until he got it right. He paused for just a moment then turned to look up at Equius, the larger bat glaring down at him menacingly. He tried to give him a bright smile, but he was sure it came out a bit awkward, especially as anxious as he sounded when he spoke those strange clicking words. He was just trying to thank him for everything he had done to help them, including rescuing Dave, but the larger bat didn't seem pleased with his attempt at all. Equius snorted, a sharp exhale that sounded dismissive if not a little bit threatening, directing his response to Karkat. "Tell it not to speak to me again if it doesn't want to get _eaten_."

"Equius!" Karkat snapped, growling over his shoulder, "He can _understand_ you, idiot!"

Looking down at John again the bat narrowed his eyes into dark slits, taking a step closer into his personal space and looming over him ominously, uttering only one word in reply. "Good." He glared down upon him with tangible disgust, baring his large, sharp fangs and letting out a low growl, his blue eyes flashing with malice.

Quickening his pace so he was at Karkat's side, opposite Equius with the smaller bat between them, John leaned in and asked quietly, "Err...Fein don't really eat humans, right?"

Lowering his ears a bit, Karkat fixed his gaze with John's for a long moment before continuing walking, John swallowing thickly before glancing ahead along their path. He tapped his optics, calling for Rose to chart out their path, trusting Karkat to know the way but appreciating the computer's guidance nonetheless. They walked on in silence, Equius lumbering after them, John sweating nervously at the feeling of the larger bat staring him down with deadly intent. He offered a few times to help Karkat carry Dave, but the smaller bat refused. The human's weight was nothing compared to Karkat's alien strength, it was merely awkward trying to help him walk when the astronaut wasn't fully aware of himself or his surroundings. Dave seemed to be walking somewhat on his own if not drunkenly, his movements unsteady and sporadic, missing his steps now and then as they traversed the cold terrain. It wasn't as cold as it had been the night Kankri had found him and led him back to the ship, but he could still feel the bite of the low temperature piercing through his slime-coated suit. John checked their progress as time passed slowly by, his thermal readings beeping now with updates, highlighting their surroundings in blue and soft white, veiled in lime-green and violet from the moons above.

After a while Rose chimed in his ear, his sights flashing green to indicate arrival at their chosen destination, John looking ahead to see they were approaching the breach in the hull above the pod-room. Knowing the way from here he walked ahead a bit, continuing down into the hull, balancing across the beams to make his descent. The doors were still slightly ajar where Karkat had broken the airtight seal and pried them open before, but closed enough that John couldn't get through, the human sliding off his glove and pressing his hand over the panel to fully open the unsealed doors. They creaked loudly, rumbling with effort, then parted all the way, opening wide and revealing the shadowed path leading into the main corridor, the ship's fluorescent lighting flickering overhead. He turned back to watch Karkat drop down into the pod-room, splashing as he landed in the middle of the large slime puddle, coating his fur in a new coating of noxious sludge. Equius watched them from the breach in the hull, making no move to descend into the inner chamber. Karkat stepped forward, allowing John to take Dave from his shoulder, then flicked his ears a bit while glancing between the other bat and the humans.

"I need to speak with him. I will come find you after."

John nodded, looking from Karkat towards the large, intimidating alien glaring down at them, quickly turning on his heel and stepping through the doors, listening to them close behind him as well as they could. The oxygen level was even lower than before he'd left, John determined to seal off the corridor as soon as he was done helping Dave. Oxygen and water were two things they were not going to be able to live without.

Shuffling Dave down the winding corridor leading towards the med-bay was more work than he'd realized it would be by himself, John straining to get the taller boy through that final set of doors once they'd arrived. He reached out for the hand-panel to gain access to the med bay, trying to keep Dave upright while balancing him against his hip and the nearest wall. The other boy suddenly began coughing harshly behind his mask, clinging to John's shoulder like a lifeline, knocking him off balance and accidentally jerking his hand away from the access panel, the doors still sealed shut. John caught him before he fell, hoisting him up again and shakily reaching for the panel. So close. They were so close.

"Hate to tell ya like this kid but I'm pretty sure I'm about to be sick all over ya so, no hard feelings okay?"

John managed to open the door just as Dave started to gag, holding his breath and dragging him quickly through the waiting room and to the shower, stepping onto the tile just as he started to vomit. He quickly pulled off Dave's mask so he could breathe through it, lowering them both to the floor so the blonde could kneel over the drain and cough up what toxins he could out of his system, dry-heaving on his empty stomach before collapsing against one of the shower walls, blinking over at John in pure exhaustion.

"Welp. Guess it's good there's nothing really there for me to spill." He chuckled, sounding delirious, and John reached over to begin to undo his protective layers and help him shrug out of his body suit.

"There there, you're alright. Just try to breathe…" He stripped Dave down bare, tossing aside his contaminated clothes and making a pile for the biohazard furnace, deciding he'd better strip out of his slimy suit as well. When he was free from his clothing John reached up, waving his hand across the shower panel to start warm water raining down upon them both, adjusting the valve to a comfortable temperature. He left Dave for just a moment to carry their discarded suits off to the biohazard furnace, the chamber hidden in the far wall behind the medical staff's station, mindful of the translator still tucked into the shell of his right ear as he padded barefoot back towards the shower. Carefully he removed his translator, setting it on top of one of the counters nearby to recover after they were out of the water, then returned to the shower and helped Dave stand to his feet, rinsing him down thoroughly before tending to himself. Not bothering to do more than rinse before heading to the purification chamber, John switched the shower off with a wave of his fingertips, then with a flick of his wrist pulled up his spectacle's sights. He talked to Rose as he helped Dave walk to the purification chamber, dripping water behind them as they went, planning on entering the chamber together so he could keep an eye on the other astronaut's recovery process. "We're going in together, Rose. Confirm two starfleet personnel for full medical treatment and decontamination immediately. You have my full understanding and express consent regarding both John Egbert and Dave Strider." John doubted Dave would be able to stand on his own without his support, he hadn't been fully coherent since he'd been freed from his pod. With Captain's privileges, hopefully Rose wouldn't deny his request.

The computer chimed, logging his consent and the stardate before replying. _Acting Captain's orders to override quantity limitations on occupants: permission granted._ The purification chamber opened and allowed John to step inside, Dave pressed against his side, blinking slowly and mostly unresponsive. John was worried for him, but he knew that he'd be on the mend soon. Maybe when Dave was thinking a bit clearer John would be able to speak with him about their current situation, and together they could find a way out of this predicament. The chamber sealed a moment later, Rose's voice echoing overhead. _Full medical analysis and decontamination proceedings will begin in thirty seconds, Captain. Please remember to breathe evenly while chamber fills with purifying agent. You may experience nausea or dizziness until aerosol medications have dissipated and chamber has fully cleared. Due to level of contamination and number of occupants this procedure may take longer than usual._ The overhead intercom played a soft jingle, a sequence John had heard many times before. _Starfleet appreciates your patience and understanding regarding this matter._ The jingle silenced itself a moment later, Rose chiming up again. _Decontamination will now begin._

Rose hadn't been kidding when she said the process would take longer. It was the most time John had ever spent inside of a purification chamber, even if he doubled the time on account of Dave. His sights went over the details of their respective treatments as the medical devices did their intended work, unable to pronounce half of the procedures and medications that were being administered, but noticing right away the way Dave perked up. He looked up to meet John's eyes as he coughed and breathed in the medication surrounding them inside the chamber, and eventually the haze in his eyes cleared and he began looking around in wonder, evaluating their surroundings with a tap to his left temple, speaking directly to his scanner. "Rose, show me all ship logs for Systems Operator Dirk Strider. Request initiated by Dave Elizabeth Strider, Access Code: 14-35-62-97-09."

John heard Rose respond through their shared chatter link, granting access after vocal recognition and accepting Dave's code. Dave's personal sights appeared before his line of vision in a holographic crescent, stretching out to rest at either side of his peripherals, effectively creating a holographic visor over his eyes. He looked to John, his red eyes muted behind the dark hologram bar, reaching up to tap his scanner again, holding his fingertip against the small disc embedded into his temple before rubbing at the device gingerly, wincing as he continued breathing in medication. After a short coughing fit he exhaled in relief, then asked casually, "What's your name again, kid?"

John still hadn't introduced himself properly, giving the blonde a small smile and offering his hand in greeting. "John. John Egbert. Nice to meet you officially."

Dave shook his hand while saying, "Dave Strider, but you knew that already. Nice to meet you too." He paused before drawing back, then asked evasively, bringing out his southern drawl, "What project are ya with? Don't think I've seen ya 'round the engineering wing."

Certain Dave was trying to ascertain how exactly John had known his name, the shorter boy laughed awkwardly and reached up to card his fingers through his dark, damp hair. "Ah, right. I'm a biome researcher, actually. From the science wing. I...found a message your brother Dirk had left behind, the last recording in the archives."

"Yeah, I'm watching that playback right now." He gestured at his holovisor, red eyes focusing on the hologram for a moment before looking past it again to John. "Seems like we must be the only two survivors after the first batch my brother was in. Damn. I was really hoping I'd be mistaken, but I had a feeling in my gut. Just couldn't shake it…" He shook his head, lowering his eyes, tone solemn and soft. He flicked his wrist in the air, pulling up a larger screen that wasn't darkened by privacy settings, flipping it to the side so John could see the projection too. "Sounds like from what he's describing the ship split apart." A local map appeared, highlighting fragments of the broken ship, Dave pointing to the Captain's bridge. "You said you'd been here before? Accessed the ship's mainframe?"

John nodded, "Rose promoted me to Acting Captain after I woke up. Earlier tonight Karkat and I were there, trying to figure out if anything could be salvaged. There's not much left on that side of the ship, looks like it was the most lived-in after the crash." He paused a moment, adding, "I connected the mainframe from the first deck to remote access with Captain's permissions. Here, I'll share it with you." He flicked his fingers across the interface and sent a direct invite to Dave through their communications link, Rose piping up in his ear.

_Request to grant First Class Special Engineer Dave Strider full access to Captain's logs and database archives? To approve and accept these changes, you must verbalize your express consent. Please state your name and full title for the record._

Oh boy. What a mouthful. He paused a moment, making sure he had the full title right before he said it aloud. "Permission granted by Federation Fleet Exploratory Starship Mondrogosa First Captain Johnathan Egbert. You have my full understanding and express consent. Give Dave access to whatever he needs, Rose."

_Affirmative, Captain._

Dave whistled low, grinning a little as the archives began opening in his sights, beginning to download remotely and add the information to his personal scanner. "Thanks for the upgrades, Cap'n." He stretched out his arms, settling his clasped hands behind his head and reclining back against the thick glass cylinder surrounding them. "Out of curiosity, what was your title before Rose promoted you to First Captain?"

John laughed softly, grinning sheepishly and rubbing at his nape. "Umm...Biome Researcher S Class?"

"Damn." Dave whistled, nodding his head as he flicked through his optics, opening up several different holograms at once. "That's quite a promotion."

Laughing again and shaking his head, John watched him with mild interest, glancing up at the ceiling and wondering how much longer it would be before the chamber was finished with their treatment. While their scanners shared information, John closed his eyes, reclining back against the wall opposite Dave, dozing off a bit as they waited for the medicated aerosol flooding the purification chamber to clear. Dave was quiet, going through archives and absorbing the new information he'd been presented with as quickly as humanly possible, getting up to speed with Rose's assistance. John wasn't sure how much time passed before Rose's voice chimed cheerily from the overhead intercom.

_Decontamination and rejuvenation treatments successful. All vitals read normal. No detected ailments or injuries at present interval. No reported complications or abnormalities. You may return to your duties._ The jingle chimed again, a cheery tune representing starfleet command. _Thank you for your patience, Specialist. Thank you for your patience, Captain._

____

____

The chamber finished vacuuming out the final bits of medication lingering in the air before the cylinder opened, Dave stepping out first and going to the lockers nearby to find fresh clothes, John yawning softly as he slowly followed after him. They both dressed in silence, and when Dave spoke up it nearly startled John, who was dozing off once again on his feet.

"You look just about as exhausted as I feel. Where've you been holed up?" He flicked his fingertips against the air, focusing on his sights. "Looks like the main corridor has a breach, the oxygen levels are unstable, but there's a bunker nearby. I take it we're headin' there?".

John groaned softly, looking over to watch the engineer who was retrieving a fresh breathing mask from a cabinet filled with medical supplies, handing one to John as well. Damn it all. He'd almost forgotten about the doors. "Yeah, there's food and water in the bunker. Help yourself to whatever you want." He padded towards the waiting room, adjusting his oxygen mask in place then glancing over at the blonde who was following him. "I'm not sure what to do about repairing the doors. They were sealed when I woke up, but Karkat pried them open the night we first met. I was hoping maybe he could help us re-seal them somehow?"

Dave looked hesitant at mention of the alien, but eventually nodded in agreement. "I had Rose run diagnostics on potential repairs given the materials located in our immediate vicinity. Judging from the door mechanics reading operational despite the damage, I'd say we could probably manage a crude patch for now until I can get some equipment and do actual repairs." They entered the hallway, leaving the med-bay behind, John shivering a bit at the temperature drop now that he wasn't wearing his bodysuit. They reached the bunk room momentarily, John pressing his hand to the door-panel to let them both inside while Dave continued to speak. "Looks like I'm going to need to get down to the Deck E, and getting there is going to be quite the hassle." John sighed heavily as he removed his mask and plopped down unceremoniously atop the bed he had used the night before, not even bothering to cover himself with a blanket. He could fall asleep just like this and that would be absolutely fine. No objections. Dave didn't seem quite ready for sleep, and he shared the hologram he was dissecting with a flick of his wrist, the data entering John's personal sights. He evaluated the data, noting the highlighted chambers Dave was referring to. It was the same place he had been to before, when he had crawled through the vents.

"That room is flooded," John responded drowsily. "Last time I was there the ceiling collapsed and let in a bunch of accumulated fluid. All of the water in the immediate area had been contaminated with fuel. It's a radioactive biohazard down there."

Dave clicked his tongue, disappointed. "There's gotta be a way in. Deck E has everything we'd need to get a temp patch in place…" He glanced over at John, red eyes shadowed behind his holovisor, sighing softly when he realized John was already on the verge of unconsciousness, completely exhausted. He couldn't imagine what John had been through these past few days alone, on an alien planet, assuming he was the only human left alive. Dave was thankful beyond words he wasn't alone.

When the dark-headed boy softly hummed and closed his eyes, not giving any real response, Dave decided to let him sleep, not speaking to him again. He busied himself grabbing blankets and pillows from the nearby cots, tossing them onto a bed across from John close to the back wall, parallel to a row of bunk room lockers. He crawled into the soft pile he'd created with a few cans of fruit, veggies and a water bottle, eating his fill and hydrating while he looked over the ship's blueprints. He felt better as he ate, his energy returning, and set about devising a plan to get into the flooded engineering wing. Before he did anything further he needed to find gear suitable for exploring the ruins. He rose from the cot, setting the empty cans aside and stepping over to the lockers, digging around while cataloguing the contents within. It appeared John had already gathered what supplies he could find. He pulled a bodysuit out of one of the lockers and shrugged out of his med-bay clothes, gearing up while studying the blueprint hovering in his sights. Equipping a spare pair of studded climbing boots, matching gloves, and a set of protective goggles, Dave walked towards the other set of lockers along the adjacent wall to look for more supplies.

He gathered what he could; grabbing rappelling gear, a full bottle of water, and some emergency flares. Checking off items on his mental list he shoved the supplies into a heavy-duty rucksack and secured the pack tightly against his body, the straps overlapping in a crisscross pattern across the chest of his bodysuit. He had a plan, but he wouldn't be sure it would work until he was down there. He tapped his left temple, setting his scanner to record and collect data, sending a muted live stream directly into their shared chatter link databank so John could find him easily when he eventually awoke. Securing his breathing mask and goggles in place, his holovisor conformed to the interior of the goggles, tinting the clear glass and effectively darkening them enough to automatically switch to night vision, readjusting his sights to synchronize with the external addition of protective gear. Satisfied with his accumulated gear and supplies, he glanced back at John's sleeping form before exiting the room quietly, the doors opening automatically as he approached. Engineers were constantly moving around the starship, his permissions as a First Class Specialist allowing him to travel wherever he would like to go without stopping at each and every panel he passed by, only certain restricted areas requiring access via touch.

He let himself out of the bunker and stepped into the hallway, glancing up and inhaling sharply between his teeth. He threw up his hands defensively, acting on sheer instinct, recoiling away from the bat standing on the other side of the door. He must have been waiting for John, the startled human and alien similarly frozen in place while they examined one another, the door Dave had just walked through beeping quietly as it sealed shut behind him. The alien was watching him curiously, his large pinnae tilted towards him as he let out a soft series of chirps. Dave couldn't understand him, but he recognized enough of the pattern to realize what the creature was asking, noting John's name and his seemingly concerned expression.

"He's alright, just restin'." The alien didn't seem to understand, watching him expectantly, the two boys staring at one another for a while, going silent. Eventually Dave forced his body to relax under Karkat's intense gaze, rolling his shoulders and neck a bit, letting out a shaky breath to steady himself. John had said this bat-creature was his friend, and Dave vaguely recalled this alien in particular helping him out of his pod while he was disoriented. Reaching up to rub at the back of his neck, he tried again. "Your name's Karkat, right?"

The alien chirped softly, then looked Dave over slowly, his slit irises focusing on his dark, tinted goggles, twitching at the sound of his sights adjusting to follow the alien's movements. He took a step closer to Dave, then moved back and forth to peer at either side of the human's skull, gesturing with one claw towards Dave's ears, then his own. The nanofiber translator stretched across Karkat's ear was blinking now and then, trying to pair with the twin device that had been disconnected. John must have left it behind in the med bay when they'd been there before.

Dave turned away from Karkat and walked towards the med-bay, leaving the alien behind in the hall outside the bunker door. He pressed his hand to the panel sealing the med-bay entrance and cast his gaze around the waiting room, stepping across the divider and into the back room where the showers and giant cylindrical healing pod were. He spotted the translator, stepping over to retrieve it and calling out to Rose. "Analyze and draft blueprint mechanics of this device, Rose. I need a full breakdown of the components." He grabbed the device from a countertop near the shower, turning it over for a moment, his optics quickly analyzing the device and dissecting it, making a blueprint of the mechanics for his engineering manifest and displaying the results to his query. He looked over the details for a moment before pressing it to his left ear. It stretched out in a web of nanofiber before settling into place, beeping as it synchronized, Rose chiming up in his ear a moment later as she reestablished the connection.

_Pairing successful. Proceed with experimental communications, Specialist._

"Experimental is right. This thing is ancient." He clicked his fingertips against the air as he began deciphering and reworking code, adjusting the blueprint manually to more sensible and eloquent specifications. He continued working, multitasking as he slowly walked back towards the bay doors, the doors opening automatically for him as he stepped back out into the hall. The Fein was there again, watching him and waiting, his ears twitching at the sound of Dave's fingertips clicking along invisible keys, drawing a bit closer to where he stood. Dave took a few moments to work on the finer details of the blueprint then waved his hand across his sights and returned to the blown-up blueprint of the starship, searching through the layout of the science wing to find what he was looking for. After locating Doctor Harley's office he looked up at Karkat, gesturing to the small device in his ear. "Can you understand me now?"

The alien nodded his reply, a soft series of chirps sounding through the air before the translator caught up. "I can understand." He asked after a short pause. "John isn't with you?"

Dave shook his head, starting along the path Rose highlighted for him as he ventured through the winding hallways, Karkat following after him. "He's alright. He needed some sleep, looked like he'd been plumb run ragged." He glanced over at the Fein as he turned around a corner, his sights highlighting a sealed door in green to indicate their arrival. "Can't blame him. He's probably been runnin' around like a chicken with its head cut off since he woke up." He nodded to Karkat. "You been with him the whole time?"

Karkat's ears dipped back for a moment, trying to decipher Dave's slang phrases, before he replied, "We bumped into one another when he was exploring the ruins. I'm not sure how long he was alone before that." Dave hummed softly in understanding as the door swung open, opening automatically with a soft chime from Rose.

_Research laboratory was breached during impact. Proceed with caution._

"Thanks, darlin'. Why don't we find some better materials to work with?" He slid off his gloves and set his engineering programs to work, his sights flickering with data as the program quickly assembled a new blueprint for an updated translator device. It was small and compact, a two-part magnetic disc that could be easily clipped to the ear whether Fein or human, and the components were easy enough to assemble and replicate. At least, for a First Class Engineering Specialist. He cleared off a space atop one of the tables, rooting through drawers and cabinets to gather what he needed before he set to work. Karkat watched him from the open door, leaning against the frame and pivoting his ears towards Dave now and then while the human created several of the small devices, tucking them away inside a protective tube and shoving them into the hidden chest compartment of his bodysuit, patting against it lightly to make sure it was securely in place. He picked up the last two devices he had left out purposefully for himself and Karkat, and then turned to the Fein, beckoning him closer. The bat watched him for a long moment before stepping closer, coming to a halt in front of the table at the human's side, watching him expectantly. Dave picked up one of the small, compact discs while removing the nanofiber Bluetooth from his ear, then turned so Karkat could watch him slide the disc in place.

It was round and smooth, about the size of a quarter and relatively thick, opening up slightly like a clamshell on one side. It retained this half-open shape before splitting completely apart into two magnetic discs, the twin segments securing themselves to either side of Dave's cartilage as he slid the device seamlessly into place, the translator adhering to his skin before locking into position with light pressure. He gestured to Karkat's ear, reaching up slowly and flicking the release catch on the underside before pulling it free, the nanofiber shrinking back into its smaller bud shape before Dave set the old pair of translators aside atop the dusty research table. He offered Karkat the other updated device, the bat taking it from him carefully with sharp claws, scratching against Dave's palm lightly before withdrawing. The human shuddered at the sensation of Karkat's claws, picking up his discarded gloves and sliding them back over his exposed skin, watching the alien press the disc to his ear. The human watched the bat's movements closely, his sights whirring and collecting data as the alien moved, Dave smiling smugly as Karkat pulled back his claws and the translator slid smoothly into place. It rested near the base, where his giant ears met his skull, the disc locked against the outer edge of his large pinna, ready to synchronize communications.

Once both devices were equipped Dave tapped along his sights, activating the program, and both discs activated simultaneously, synchronizing smoothly with a low hum. A ring of light appeared around the translator's outer circumference, illuminating the alien's dark fur with glowing neon blue that faded into a softer hue as the program found the appropriate wavelengths and settled, communications appearing fully operational after the initial boot. The sound was much clearer now, and there was no lag to speak of. The updated translators worked in real-time, integrated seamlessly into the A.I. system that shared intelligence with R.O.S.E. and the ship's direct mainframe. With the access John had given him before, he could do just about everything the ship Captain could do, with a few minor exceptions.

Keeping his voice soft for now, fingers clicking across invisible keys to fine-tune live data output, Dave drawled softly, "Alright now, try sayin' somethin'. Let's see if these bad boys are workin'."

Karkat's ears perked up and his eyes went wide, crooning softly and tilting his head a bit, favoring his right ear where the translator rested. "It...sounds different now."

"In a bad way?" Dave asked, monitoring the stats he was receiving as the translators communicated with one another, looking for abnormalities.

"No. No, it sounds...better. Like you're actually speaking the same language." He flashed his fangs as he smiled excitedly, pivoting his ears and flexing them purposefully back and forth. "This feels much better. The fabric before, it was constricting." He lifted his hand, claws tapping at the small illuminated disc. "You created one for John also?"

"You betcha! Got a whole pack of 'em right here." He patted his chest again, feeling the subtle outline of the tube hidden within the small compartment. "Whole roll of Mentos, ready for use. Thought your giant friend might wanna understand what we're sayin' too, or whoever else we might run into."

"Friend…?" Karkat paused, realizing what Dave was referring to. "Ah, Equius. He isn't exactly keen on the idea of interacting with humans. It was lucky he happened to be nearby though, when we found you. He is incredibly strong."

Dave nodded absently, still fiddling with data and code, then dismissed the blueprints and cleared his sights, nothing remaining in his line of vision save for basic stat readings in his peripherals, including oxygen, temperature, and gravity fluctuations. The temperature outside was drastically different than inside the ship, and the gravity readings were insane, dipping and rising completely off the charts. Maybe he hadn't been hallucinating before when he'd witnessed John flying. How else would they have gotten out of that ravine alive? The ship was in tatters. 900-billion years had passed. They were stranded on an alien planet, everyone they ever knew was in another galaxy, dead, or both. Dave couldn't even begin to contemplate the various scenarios of time-warp, hyperdrive, and wormhole theories that could have allowed that much time to elapse yet somehow they'd managed to survive. 900-billion years...trapped in a self-sustaining hypersleep life-pod? There was no way. It was impossible. Time had to pass differently here. There must be some malfunction in the R.O.S.E. autopilot's stardate recording algorithm. It was the only possible explanation that remotely made sense. Maybe they'd only awoken a few hundred years after Dirk's final message. Maybe not even _that_ long, maybe they'd been here alive in the same wreckage just decades ago. He had to believe. He had to keep it together. Focus. There was a mission to complete. He had things he had to do to ensure his safety, and John's. This wasn't the time to panic.

Pushing all that aside into a mental box to sort through later, he redirected his attention to Karkat, the alien watching him curiously. He seemed to be listening to something, focusing on Dave's neck. His elevated heartbeat? The human took a deep breath to calm his anxiety, exhaling slowly and collecting himself, drawing back from the edge of that mental spiral. He could freak out later. For now, he needed to fix the broken door seal leaking oxygen out of the main corridor. Those doors were heavy duty, but with Karkat's strength to assist John had sounded optimistic about repairs. The alien seemed friendly enough, and intelligent. Dave was certain between the two of them they could manage to patch the door. First things first. He had to get engineering supplies from Deck E. Giving Karkat a little grin, he reached over and bumped his fist against his upper arm, trying to be friendly. "So kid, you gonna help me out a bit tonight? Gotta see if we can fix that door you pried open near the breached hull."

Karkat blinked, trying to assess Dave's words and the reason behind his movements, taking a few moments to reply. "I am not a pup." He clarified, but when Dave just blinked at him Karkat nodded briefly in response and replied to his question. "I told John I would do what I could to assist in repairing the door. What would you have me do?"

He gestured in the open air above the research table and a hologram appeared before them, Karkat turning to look at it as Dave pointed to the highlighted room on the map. "I need to get here. My brother left me something, and I'd like to retrieve it if at all possible. There's also tools and engineering gear there that I can use to fix the airtight seal on the doors. We have to find a way to get there first." Pointing out the way the ship was twisted and crushed against the walls of the fissure, and half of the west wing was hanging out over an uncharted void, Dave cut his eyes towards Karkat. "That flying thing you can, could you do it in a space like that?" He circled the void below the ship with his finger, drawing a red oval around the expanse with his fingertip to temporarily mark the digital map.

The alien rumbled softly, debating. "I have never attempted to traverse the unlit portions of the ravine." He looked up at Dave, adding a simple explanation. "The gravity is easiest to feel where the moonlight touches the surface. There, in the darkness, the gravity could be too strong to rise again. It could trap us there, were we to fall."

"Gotcha. We'll try to avoid that at all costs." He zoomed in on the ship, calling out to Rose. "Sugar, you wanna chart me a path to Deck E?"

The computer calculated for a few moments before replying. _Negative, Specialist. Unable to locate stable route to reach Deck E._

Dave hummed, trying again, "Can you show me the way John went before?" Rose changed the view of the hologram, drawing a green path highlighting the route through the vents that John had traversed before the compartment had flooded. "Now can ya show me the way John got outta there and back to the east wing again?" The path appeared again, in a different shade of green, so Dave could easily distinguish which path was to and from the flooded deck. "Uh-huh. I see the problem." He reached up and tapped at the section of ventilation shaft that had broken apart and fallen into the ravine. "This section before must have been stable. Something must have jarred it loose and now there's no way back following that route."

"The land-bridge fell." Karkat summarized, Dave looking over at him as the bat reached forward and pointed to the section of the ravine where they had located Dave's pod. "There was wreckage here along the surface. John crossed it trying to reach the bridge. It fell into the ravine, only a short time before we picked up your emergency signal." He tilted his ears towards Dave, drawing his claws back. "The seismic activity from the land-bridge falling could have caused the damaged ship to further break apart."

Dave nodded in agreement, pinching the map and changing their viewpoint to look at the ship from above, then below. "Any more _activity_ and this ol' girl's gonna break apart right at the seam between the two wings. The whole thing'll drop." He drew his finger across the ship, a red line dividing the level section and the twisted, nearly upside-down section hanging out over the abyss. "If she doesn't break off clean, she might try to drag the east wing down with her when she goes."

The alien watched him, eyes narrowing a bit with thought. After a long moment of silence, Karkat asked, "How much seismic activity would it take for that to happen? Would it have to be something huge again, like the land-bridge collapse?"

The blonde shook his head, shrugging. "Hard to say. Could be anything, really. Probably why the humans before took shelter at the bridge. Didn't wanna risk being here if the ship fell."

"Then what should we do?" Karkat asked, his voice soft. "John said this side of the ship holds the only functioning med-bay. The one at the bridge was destroyed." He looked to the map again, poking at the ruins and gesturing to various sections as he spoke. "If the west wing eventually falls, and the east wing remains level without being dragged into the ravine, would it remain stable enough to continue using the rooms you're living in now?"

 _He's weighing the pros and cons. He catches on quick._ "Right, that's smart thinking. Is it worth it to maintain base here? Or would it be safer to move to another location? Problem is, I don't have all of the answers right now." He carded his fingers through his hair, textured gloves tugging lightly through his blonde locks. "The structural integrity at present is holding, so we gotta do what we can while there's still time."

Karkat chirped, a sound that Dave took as agreement, and the human and Fein shared a moment of silence before plotting a viable path and beginning their hazardous trek down to Deck E.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> John’s finally getting some much needed sleep, but Dave and Karkat are going to find a way to get to the west wing of the starship and reach Deck E, one way or another.
> 
> Meanwhile, Karkat’s conversation with Equius has started a chain reaction of events that will bring word to The Rebellion that humans once again walk their planet. It will spark the rise of the Third Insurrection, and will forever change their world.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading!


	7. Collapse

Kankri pivoted his ears towards the forest, listening for any further sounds from the ruins in waste lying far to the south of the clutch. Several scouts from his clade had left the inner sanctum of their claimed territory to investigate the disturbance, but Kankri had stayed behind. He stood silently nearby the main den, sheltered at the heart of the inner sanctum, waiting with his ever watchful sentries for Kurloz to arrive, intent on speaking with his Alpha about what had transpired in his absence. The Makara Primadonna would be returning from the northern reaches of the jungle any time now, and Kankri needed to be here when he arrived.

When Kurloz had first learned that Kankri had spoken with a human who had emerged from the ruins, he had immediately headed north to send word to his sire, the former Makara Prima before Kurloz was given the title: The Grand Highblood. He was the High Priest of High Society, his reign second only to that of the Imperious Condescension herself, and Kurloz was loyal to him beyond imagining. It was a long trip, and the Prima had been absent for several days and nights, but Kankri could feel his presence as he drew closer, knowing beyond all doubt that Kurloz would be with him again before the moons left the night sky and greeted the dawn. Tilting a large ear towards a guard that approached, the Belladonna beckoned him closer, waiting to hear what he had to say. The large bat knelt before him, bowing his head and dipping back his ears submissively, then began to speak in a low, rumbling tone.

"The scouts that have returned found the wreckage above the ravine has fallen into the wastes. There was no sign of the alien amongst them. It is likely to have survived."

Kankri twittered a soft dismissal and the guard rose and backed away, leaving Kakri to his thoughts. That creature, John, whom he had spoken with before, it was likely he had sought shelter within the confines of the wreckage after the collapse. Where exactly he was hiding would be hard to surmise without investigating further. He dared not decide anything so uncertain without Kurloz's approval. The Alpha may want to go investigate the ruins himself. Kankri knew better than to put himself in unnecessary danger, and would never provoke the Prima's wrath by putting his pups in a perilous situation. He had already been scolded severely for speaking with John in the first place, endangering the Makara Prima's heir. Kankri passed his claws over his stomach slowly, feeling the slight bump nestled beneath his robes, humming softly and turning to face north, training his eyes on the towering jungle trees stretching on as far as he could see. Giant avians flew overhead, cawing loudly as they went, flying in patches of violet and green as they swooped in and out of the moonlight.

-x-x-x-

Horuss narrowed his eyes, snorting loudly, looking down at his broodmate as he tried to comprehend his words. "You are _certain_ of this, Equius." The smaller Fein nodded, his one ear tilted to the side as he watched the larger Fein, the Alpha slowly pacing back and forth as he spoke to the scarred beta. "You _must_ be certain, if I am to send word to Rufioh of this. This cannot be a mistake. You must be sure."

"I am sure, brother..." Equius grumbled softly. "I have seen this for myself. I have touched the human with my own hands." He glanced down for a moment, flexing his claws. "There are two now, though the one we pulled from the wastes was sickly. I am not certain if it will survive." He hesitated for a moment, then added, "Karkat has been with the humans the entire time, sheltering them. He spoke of being conflicted, uncertain whether or not he should attempt to speak with Kankri about what has happened. They were broodmates once, before he was shunned. He is at a loss for what he should do, and so he confided in me, and now I have told you."

Horuss continued pacing, his deep blue eyes reflecting light from the bonfire in the center of the large den, their shadows arching high across the jagged cave walls. They were alone for now, but their clanmates could seek them out at any moment, so Horuss kept his words concise and his voice low. "The Prima cannot find out about this. The humans will be in immediate danger. You must ensure that they escape from the jungle before Kurloz or Darkleer can capture them and take them to The Grand Highblood." He stopped in his tracks, turning to look down at his clutchmate, his eyes narrowed into slits. "It would be wise if you were to urge Karkat to leave with them. The outcast will not be safe here any longer."

Equius' eyes widened at this, asking in a low, gruff tone, "You would have him leave? Where would he go?"

Horuss took a step closer to Equius, the beta watching him with his ear tilted back, submissive under the Alpha's glare. "He will not be merely shunned for this, Equius. He will be hunted down for his association with the humans. If Darkleer finds out you had any part of this scheme, you will bear the same fate." The Alpha snorted again, exhaling loudly in frustration. "This goes beyond any power I have as the Prima's heir to protect you, your friend, or those whom he would seek to defend. You must lead them away from here, and quickly." He turned his back, resuming his pacing as he spoke, formulating a plan of action and putting it into play with his next words. "Take them to the east, where the jungle recedes to the grasslands. Do not be seen. Instruct them to cross the Viridian Sea, continuing east. They will find Rufioh's clade at the very center. Once there, they must seek out his broodmate, Tavros. He will protect them from The Grand Highblood's reach. They will be safer with the Nitrams than they could ever hope to be here within the jungle." He cast his eyes across the shadows flickering against the stone walls, growling as he spoke. "Our clade has fallen low beneath the reigning terror of The Grand Highblood, and though it dishonors my title as a Zahhak, I admit I am helpless in this circumstance." He cut his eyes over at Equius, the beta remaining silent. "As long as the Zahhak Prima is loyal to the Makaras they will be hunted down and devoured. Until Darkleer formally bequeaths me his title, there is nothing more I can do to help any of you." He nodded towards the cave entrance, his eyes dark. "Do as I say, Equius. Make haste. There isn't much time. Return to me as soon as they've left the jungle."

Equius stood before his brother for a long moment before nodding his understanding and turning to exit the den, Horuss watching him go. Once he was out of sight, the Alpha turned to look into the fire, thinking long and hard on the decision he was about to make. He would wait until he was certain Equius had taken Karkat and the humans out of the jungle, then he would send word to Rufioh in High Society. He only hoped that Darkleer remained oblivious for a while longer, and the Makara clade would not send word to the Zahhak Prima of the humans who had emerged from the starship's wreckage before they had a chance to escape.

-x-x-x-

Karkat followed after Dave, down through the starship corridors until the path twisted sideways and they were walking along the walls. He watched the human, who was busy scanning their surroundings and clicking away at new data entries, the Fein breathing softly against the cold, plumes of fog appearing with his breath. He tilted his ears towards one of the open chambers below, toe-claws scratching lightly against the metal as he crouched down and peered into the depths. The room was piled high with clutter where the various objects it had once held had amassed into one giant pile at the bottom of the chamber. It looked like there was another door on the far side, beneath the clutter. Dave typed for a few more moments before crouching down as well, grabbing the lip of the doorframe and lowering himself inside, Karkat climbing down after him.

"Alright. So it looks like where we want to go is directly below this room. It should put us a floor above the temperature regulator control room, which according to Rose is practically a solid block of ice. It must weigh tons by now." He waved his hand against the darkness and a large rectangular hologram appeared, Dave tracing his finger along the map as he explained their situation. "We're going to have to tread lightly and get the hell out of there. The radioactive liquid that flooded the chambers below appears to have turned into ice as well." He pointed to the white patches across the local map. "Once we open these doors and descend into the breach it's going to be freezing." Dave shuffled through the furniture and debris clustered above the door, then once he had found a place to anchor himself he reached down and overrode the locked door panel, the doors swinging open with a loud chime and a gust of frigid air, the pile of clutter falling into the room below with a loud resonating crash. The sound echoed throughout the corridor, the whole wing creaking and vibrating with the tremor caused by the pressure release and the shifting ice. Karkat could subtly feel the shift of the wreckage as it shifted minutely against the cliff walls before settling again, still perched precariously above the void for now. It was enough to set his survival instincts on high alert like an exposed live wire, his throat tightening with a soft warble, his body tense with the urge to flee. Dave didn't seem concerned, already connecting his rappelling gear to the now open door frame, latching the safety cord onto his suit through his security belt and looping it tightly in place. He paused, glancing over at Karkat with a little grin as he gripped the automated reel and leaned out over the edge, testing his anchor. Finding it held and didn't budge, he let himself swing out onto the rope and began his descent, calling as he disappeared out of view, "C'mon cowboy, we ain't got all night to dilly-dally. Let's go!"

Karkat twittered softly, exhaling against the cold and feeling his core temperature begin to adjust in reaction to the sudden drop in the external environment, his body chemistry regulating automatically to keep him warm. As Dave rappelled down into the chamber below Karkat followed after him, using his claws and talons to descend along the metal wall, making himself footholds and handholds as he went, unconcerned with the surface damage he was inflicting upon the ruined ship. The giant bay windows were covered in thick layers of frost, and there was a strange ringing noise in the air. The pressure here was immense, as if the entire wing was trapped under a heavy wave of gravity. Dave reached the bottom of the chamber a few moments before Karkat did, the human sliding a bit against the icy surface when he tried taking a step. He held onto the rope tightly and reached down to touch the ankle of his boots, Karkat tilting his ears towards the sound of tiny mechanics rearranging something within. It seemed the switch at his ankle converted the soles of his boots so they were spiked instead of merely studded. The human stood up hesitantly and tested his footing, releasing the rope and walking towards one of the nearby windows now that his boots prevented him from sliding across the slick surface. Human mechanics were fascinating. They may not have many natural capabilities, but everything they lacked within their original bodies they made up for with their inventions. Karkat walked across the icy metal as well, perking his ears up and waiting to see what Dave was doing, sniffing at the air and wrinkling his nose at the strange tang in the icy room. There must be lots of fuel nearby, it stank nearly as badly as the slimy ravine, though it seemed to be muted by all the ice.

Dave was rubbing his forearm back and forth against one of the giant windows to clear away some of the frost, leaning forward and peering into the room below with a little grin across his face. "Looks like White Christmas down there." He peered around, casting his gaze in different directions as he spoke. "That's the main engineering lobby, which means the mess hall is that way, and the bunker and our supply storage rooms are in the opposite direction…" He walked a few steps to another window, scraping the frost off of the giant pane to peer through it as well. "This is the direction we need to go. Deck E is just past that wall of ice." Karkat walked over to his side, looking through the frosty porthole while Dave gestured to the large formation of crystals that was growing steadily over a frozen layer of slime. There were thousands of green-tinged snowflakes flurrying around the room where the temperature regulation unit had been thrown into overdrive, likely jostled when the land-bridge fell. "First we've gotta get down there. Can you bust out one of these widows?" Karkat nodded, gesturing for Dave to stand back before raising both of his fists and swinging them down hard against the frozen glass. The pane shattered around the area he struck, falling away in large sections and littering the accumulating snow and ice below. Dave leaned out over the edge, eyeing the descent into the flooded, now mostly frozen, chamber. He tapped at his scanner, reading the data his sights presented with a little nod to himself, looking over at Karkat with an impish grin. "You uh, wanna help me out again?"

Karkat descended first, throwing his arms out for balance as he jumped down and landed atop the frozen slime, the thick ice shifting slightly under his weight but showing no signs of breaking. He looked up through the snow flurries to the second story where Dave was climbing onto the ledge. The human jumped after only a few seconds of hesitation, Karkat catching him easily in his strong arms, the human grunting softly as he slammed down against his chest, blinking for a few moments before his face turned bright red. Karkat tilted his ears towards him, worried he might be hurt. "Did you injure yourself, Dave?"

The blonde looked up at him, his red eyes shining through his tinted goggles, highlighting the rouge in his cheeks. "Nope! Nope, not at all. I'm just surprised at how sturdy you are, Batboy. That was quite a rush." He laughed a bit as Karkat shifted to let him back to his feet, the engineer clearing his throat and meeting his eyes for a moment before he started walking towards the wall of ice. "You caught me like that was nothin'. Quite the bold Prince Charming, ey Karkat? Must be a hit with the local ladies!" Karkat was a bit confused, unsure of how to respond, simply opting to follow after Dave as the engineer examined the wall of ice from different angles, pointing out the door that was half-submerged in frozen slime. "That's where we want to go. When the chamber flooded it must have swamped the stairs and room beyond." He exhaled softly, fingers tapping against the air as he formulated another route they might be able to take instead. "Our options at this point are extremely limited. It might be easier to try and access things from a different way, I'm just not seeing anything on the map that will get us where we need to go…" He paused, poking at something in his sights. "Except for maybe this section of the ventilation shaft, it should give us a clear route into the next room if we're lucky. Parts of it might also be frozen shut, hard to tell right now with the thermal readings being so skewed. We won't know until we get in there."

Karkat followed Dave's gestures as the human pointed towards a square panel in the wall above, near the top of the large crystal formation, the ice visibly expanding the longer they stood near the base. Karkat climbed up first, making dips in the metal that Dave could use himself as he followed after the Fein, the bat prying the panel off of the wall and revealing the empty ventilation shaft, crawling in first. Dave was right behind him, giving Karkat directions as they continued through the angular pathway, the ventilation system practically a labyrinth as it wove above and between various engineering chambers. Eventually they reached a section of the vent that was thoroughly shrouded in ice, Karkat evaluating the thick layer that stretched across their path, effectively blocking their way. The Fein clawed through it repetitively until the ice eventually crumbled and gave way under the might of his claws, allowing them to continue on, the bat pushing the ice ahead of them to move it out of the way and stopping his exploration only when Dave called for him to do so.

"This is it! We're directly above the room. Can you cut through the shaft so we can head straight down from here?"

Karkat glanced over his shoulder at the human and nodded, motioning for him to move back and give him room to work. He pried at the metal segments holding the ventilation shaft together until he felt something give, peeling back layers of metal and creating a hole big enough to crawl through, peering down into the room below. Dave peered down as well, grinning wide when he saw just what he'd been looking for, pointing to the katana resting atop a desk, the frozen slime of the flooded chamber resting just beneath the lip of the table. A few more inches and the sword would have been swallowed up when the compartment flooded. "There she is. Damn, that's a sight for sore eyes." He unclasped his pack and pulled it to the front, digging for rappelling gear again. "Gonna be a pain in my ass getting down there and back again, but she's worth it…"

Karkat watched him for a few moments, glancing back down at the sword. He wasn't sure what importance this object held for Dave, but logically it would be quicker and safer if the Fein simply retrieved it for him. He dug his dewclaws into the shaft as he swung upside down into the room, evaluating the simplest path down and beginning his descent, Dave calling down after him in surprise. Karkat tuned out his protests, opting to climb down diagonally along the closest wall, zigzagging around ice patches and broken slabs of jutting metal, ever aware of that uneasy feeling he couldn't shake while they traversed the unstable areas of the ship. With the ice continuously growing and expanding, it was weighing the ship down more and more, and Karkat's instincts were hurrying along his movements, trying to ensure his survival. He really wanted to get back to the east wing, away from danger. He'd feel better once they were back with John.

When he planted a foot against the surface of the ice it cracked under his weight, not as thickly frozen here as the ice had been in the main chamber. Gingerly he padded across the ice and eventually stepped onto the sturdy computer desk, sighing softly. He had already scrubbed slime out of his fur once tonight, he would rather not have to do it again. The bat stepped lightly across the platform and crouched down beside the sword, examining it with a quiet twitter. He was careful of his claws as he grasped the katana's glossy black and red sheath, lifting it from the table and turning it over in his hands. It had some sort of writing scrawled down the sheath in a language until anything he'd ever seen before, his eyes dilating slightly as he took in the strange angular shapes of the human glyphs. He looked up towards the ceiling and tilted his ears towards Dave when the human called down to him, the engineer watching him with a big grin, shaking his head slowly back and forth before speaking.

"I'm swooning here, Karkat. Really. You're a real Prince Charming." He teased, reaching down from the vent and making a beckoning motion with his gloved fingers. "Wanna toss her up to me so you can climb outta there with both hands? We gotta make a pit stop at engineering storage before heading back upstairs to patch the doors."

Karkat nodded, aiming the sword like a javelin and tossing it towards the ceiling. Dave braced himself against the edge of the vent and swooped down to catch it midair before withdrawing back into the vent, cheering victoriously at their teamwork. It took only a few moments for the bat to ascend once more into the punctured shaft, easing back into the chilled ventilation system and watching as Dave secured the katana and his rucksack along his back, giving Karkat a thumbs up and a wide, happy grin.

"You're a rockstar, thanks for the assist." He reached over and punched at Karkat's bicep playfully then settled back against the wall of the ventilation shaft, checking his sights to chart their path to storage. "Now, the supplies I'll need for the patch should all be in relatively the same area. If we go back the way we came and turn to the right the vents should take us to-"

Karkat froze in place, a cold chill searing up his spine. All senses on high alert, he snapped his head to the side and lifted a hand to silence Dave, the human's words cutting off mid sentence while the Fein listened intently. Something was happening. Something wasn't right. "We have to leave."

Dave was already checking his data output, trying to see what Karkat was sensing. "I hear ya buddy but we need-"

Karkat grabbed the tight crossing straps across the chest of Dave's bodysuit and hoisted him across the hole he'd made in the shaft, pushing him forward quickly. "We have to get out of here. Now. It's sinking." Dave glanced back at him, blinking in surprise at suddenly being manhandled. Before the blonde could open his mouth to speak, the ship jolted with an unsteady quake, the metal groaning loudly as the west wing began to drop, exterior segments of the ship grinding harshly against the ancient cliffs before slowly coming to a standstill again. Everything was quiet for a few long moments, then the ship started moving once more, Karkat baring his fangs as he shouted at the human, "Get us out of here, _now_!"

Dave flipped around and surged forward, moving as quickly as he could through the winding maze while calling back to Karkat. "I'm on it! I'll find a route! Rose?" Karkat heard the computer respond, Dave talking back and forth to the navigation system as he crawled quickly through the vents, Karkat right on his heels. He could feel the subtle shifts in gravity, the changing pressure in the air, the weight of the accumulating ice, the loose debris of the cavern walls beginning to crumble away and allow the ship to sink further into the void one fraction of an inch at a time. They only had moments to spare. It could happen at any second. "Shit!" Dave shouted, coming to an abrupt halt, Karkat unintentionally slamming into his back and pushing him forward, claws quickly grabbing onto his rucksack and securing him midair as Dave began to fall. The human let out a terrified sound, a half-shriek that echoed off of the wide open empty space before them, Karkat looking out into the darkness of the void stretching far beneath the ship. He realized they'd reached the section of the vents that John had traveled before, but the broken segment had fallen away into the darkness as the ship broke apart. Now there was nothing there but a huge gap stretching above the ominous void. The next section of vents was wrapped higher on the ship, there was no visible way to reach it. They were trapped. With nothing but empty space surrounding them, the ship groaned loudly and defiantly against the cliff face, the west wing continuing to gradually fall.

-x-x-x-

John jolted awake with a start. It felt like some sudden surge had jerked him awake, though he couldn't quite place the sensation. Still groggy with sleep, he rubbed at his eyes through his flickering hololenses and yawned softly, rolling onto his back and blinking up at the ceiling, still getting his bearings from being awoken so suddenly. He'd slept a few hours at least, he could think clearly again, and he blinked and sat up with a start, looking around the empty bunker. Dave wasn't with him. Where...? Noticing a small blinking icon in his peripheral vision he swiped his fingers along his sights, pulling up the live feed through their shared chatter link. It was strange, the image was solid black, and the volume was muted. Maybe the software was malfunctioning? He would have to check with Rose and run diagnostics on their shared link. Minimizing the live feed, he stumbled out of bed and grabbed a bottle of water, drinking it down in greedy gulps, sighing softly as he knelt down and sorted through the various canned goods he'd gathered. Peas, carrots, green beans, black-eyed peas, baby corn… He opted for a can of mixed veggies, opening it with a soft grumble and a little effort, sleepily devouring the contents between yawns. His eyes wandered over the various indicators in his sights before he decided to check the database he now shared with Dave's scanner, setting it to play from the time he fell asleep.

The images popped up right away, crystal clear recording with full audio. He fast-forwarded a bit now and then, watching him interact with Karkat, craft a set of updated translators, map out a path to Deck E and then journey on to their destination. Strange, he wondered why the live stream had been recording successfully before, but now appeared to be pitch black. Dismissing the archives and flicking his fingers to bring back up the live feed, he unmuted the stream and jolted at the sudden noise, lowering the volume immediately. Dave was breathing hard, talking to someone in the darkness, the camera swaying a bit and eventually refocusing on the ship. They were...outside of it? It looked like they were at the edge of a ventilation shaft, but there was nothing before them. They were stuck. He could make out Karkat's voice, the alien saying he couldn't understand without his translator, and then suddenly a sound ripped through the speakers so loudly it nearly caused John to sever the connection on instinct to protect his hearing, managing to mute the stream again and waiting for the noise to subside. That's when he felt it, the shuddering sensation of the ship shifting against the cliff it was resting upon, Rose piping up immediately with a warning in his ear.

_Loss of stability in Starship Mondrogosa Engineering Wing. Federation Spaceship Internal Gravitational Core enabling overdrive, attempting to level out ship to compensate for instability. All personnel please find your way to the nearest saferoom and report directly to-_

"Oh god, they're trapped down there!" John was immediately on his feet, grabbing the first bodysuit he could find and shrugging into it, hurriedly layering on all his equipment and grabbing a handful of flares, equipping a rappelling harness and wrapping several lengths of extra rope around his chest before running out the door.

He was panting hard as he ran, his sweat and breath pooling condensation at the edges of his goggles, his breathing mask feeling too claustrophobic, too tight. John was fighting every instinct he had to run the opposite way and abandon ship. He couldn't just leave them there. He couldn't watch them die. Pulling up the live stream again, John enabled their chatter link and called out through the interface. "Dave! Dave I'm here! I'm trying to get to you, just hold on!"

The starship intercom system blared warnings with each corridor he passed, finding his way back to the vine-laden corridor with the breached hull where he had first met Karkat, working his way backwards and down to the room that held all the foreign linguistic books. He cracked a set of flares and tossed them down the unlit hall as he ran, the ship's power still off in this sector, the flares casting a bright yellow glow across the metal corridor and illuminating the sealed doors he passed. The room he finally arrived at was at the opposite end of the ventilation shaft where Dave and Karkat were trapped. These were the same doors he'd pried apart before when he'd made his escape, but now they were completely sealed shut. Try as he might nothing he did even remotely budged them, exhaling harshly against the cold bite in the air. He needed Karkat's strength, otherwise they would never be able to pry the doors open.

_-while the West Wing remains unstable, all personnel are to avoid the immediate and surrounding areas until damage is assessed and repairs are underway. You will be notified by Starfleet Command when the area is safe again. All personnel please find your way to the nearest saferoom. Please be aware that while the West Wing remains-_

"Silence the overhead, Rose! I can't concentrate!"

_Silencing warning systems, Captain._

As soon as the sirens stopped blaring through the corridor John could hear Dave's voice, the engineer's words shaky as he called back to John, "Hey kid! You really don't want to be comin' down here right now. The ship is fallin' apart…"

Growling in frustration as he tried to pry the doors open, John called back, "I don't care! I'm not leaving you guys down there!" He looked around the hallway, searching for something he could use for leverage. "Is Karkat still with you? Can you climb your way out?"

Dave reached up and turned on his high-beams, illuminating the surrounding area and focusing once more on Karkat. The Fein was scaling the outside of the ship, heading towards the higher ventilation shaft that was still attached to the interior. "Y-Yeah, yeah, he's here. Trying to figure out a good way to get us both out, but it's lookin' pretty grim." He laughed and the sound echoed out over the empty expanse surrounding the ship, the engineer cracking a few flares he pulled from his rucksack and tossing them down into the ravine, watching as their bright light slowly faded into the darkness. The pit seemed bottomless, stretching on further than the human eye could see. "Listen, John." Dave said quietly, his tone somber. "I know we didn't know one another for long but I wanna tell you how grateful I am to you for gettin' me outta that canister and givin' me one more chance to live." The engineer's voice wavered a bit, but he continued on. "It didn't last long but man, it was a wild ride. There's only a handful of us that can ever say we made contact with aliens and I'm one of 'em. So...thank you. For everything."

"Don't you _dare_ say goodbye! We're getting you out of there!" He found a piece of metal debris and returned to the doors, kneeling down and trying to pry them apart at the base, the hinges creaking defiantly and refusing to move. "Come on, come on! Damn it, they're so close! They're just on the other side…" He cried out in frustration, throwing the debris to the side and pounding his fist against the door, calling out as loudly as he could, "Karkat! Karkat if you can hear me follow my voice! I'm right here! Karkat!"

The ship jerked with sudden movement and John inhaled sharply as he was thrown forward against the wall, smacking his face against the door and instantly feeling his nose start to gush blood, tears gathering in his vision as he coughed at the blood filling his breathing mask. _Shit shit_ shit! _This is not what I need to be dealing with right now!_

Coughing roughly he pulled the mask away from his face, trying to let the blood drain while holding his breath, very aware of the hull breach and the lack of oxygen in the hallway and surrounding rooms. He needed to find a way to stop his nosebleed, and locate a new breathing mask, but he couldn't leave the doors. He couldn't leave without Dave and Karkat. Crying in frustration he shoved his bloody mask back over his face and called out to them again, coughing at the coppery smell of the oxygen mask circulating his blood. "Karkat! Dave! Talk to me! Are you there! Guys, come on, please!" The ship rumbled as it leaned further to the side, sliding steadily along the collapsing wall, and John found himself pressed diagonally against the doors that had once been upright, blood dripping down against the metal beneath him and filling the seams with bright red. John righted himself, coughing and slamming his fist down against the doors, screaming out their names desperately as he fought to breathe. It couldn't end like this. It couldn't.

The next time he felt the ship shifting below him it was more centralized, and John realized with a start the doors were slowly being pried apart. He moved to the side and watched in relief as sharp claws raked through the thick metal and shoved them wide open, Karkat's eyes wide with panic as he hoisted himself out of the small library and into the hallway beside John. He hovered over the human, chirping loudly in distress, talking quickly in sharp chirps and clicks that John couldn't understand. He reached over and grabbed at Karkat's chest, fisting the dark cloth covering his fur and ripping it slightly under the strain of his gloves.

"Karkat! Karkat, listen to me! I can't understand you! You have to help Dave!" The alien stopped speaking, his ears twitching towards John, bright red eyes focusing on the blood pooling in his mask and streaking down his face. "I'm alright, I think I may have broken my nose, but I'm fine! I need you to help Dave, please! We can't leave him!" He pulled the lengths of rope from around his chest and shoulder then slipped out of his harness, offering it to Karkat, fighting back his sobs. "Take this to Dave, once he's wearing it you can pull him up to safety, right? You're so strong, I know you can do it Karkat. Please! Please, we can't leave him down there to die, I can't leave him…"

The bat watched him, ears tilted back. He twittered softly, then the alien reached forward and cupped the back of John's head, pulling him close and pressing their foreheads together. He nuzzled him for the briefest of moments, warbling softly in the back of his throat, then he turned and disappeared back into the room, taking the rope and harness with him. Coughing wetly, John tried to reign in his sobs long enough to hold his breath and let the blood drain from the bottom of his mask again, pulling up the live feed in full visual hologram so he could see through Dave's eyes. The ship groaned and creaked, Dave's highbeams focusing on the darkness around him then pointing upwards again, up towards the ventilation shaft now parallel to his position. John lay against the slowly shifting corridor wall, listening to the way Dave was shaking, the shivering in his breath, the way he swallowed thickly and panted softly in the dark. He must feel so cold, so alone. He had to talk to him, but it was already so hard to breathe...

John called out to him softly, trying to reassure him. "He's coming for you, Dave. He's coming." His words were slurred, feeling disoriented and dizzy from a combination of steady blood loss and oxygen deprivation. He needed to find a mask, but his only concern was getting Dave to safety and the three of them escaping. Together.

Dave laughed softly when he heard John, breath caught on a relieved sob. "Yeah? He's comin'? Karkat's comin' back for me?"

John let himself laugh as well, clenching his hands into tight fists, hoping, begging, praying he wasn't wrong. "He's coming Dave, I promise. We're not going anywhere without you."

Rose chimed in his ear, the vitals in his sights beginning to flash orange, then red. _Breathing mask compromised, Captain. Please seek out nearest storage unit for replacement._ The computer beeped for a moment, then added on, _Detecting significant and increasing blood loss. After securing replacement oxygen mask, immediately make your way to the nearest Medical Bay for treatment. Further continued blood loss will lead to hallucinations and subsequent unconsciousness._

John ignored Rose's voice, watching Dave's stream and smiling broadly when he saw Karkat appear in the vent above, lowering the harness down to Dave, the blonde reaching up to grab it. He unfastened his rucksack and then quickly equipped the harness before securing the rucksack back into place, John noting the katana tucked away along the underside, the same sword that he had left behind when he had first visited Deck E. Dave's brother had left him that sword. "He got it… I'm so glad he got it…" He felt himself fade in and out of consciousness, shaking his head to try and clear his foggy thoughts, but he couldn't breathe properly and blood was still pouring down his face. Choking and wheezing softly, he pushed himself away from the wall and peered down into the library, eyes trained on the shadowed entrance of the ventilation shaft, willing Dave's headlight to appear as they ascended to safety. Any moment now, they'd be here...any moment... John slumped against the lip of the door as his vision went dark.

-x-x-x-

Kurloz growled low in the back of his throat, tilting his ears to the south. He could hear the sound of the ruins being pulled into the abyss, the noise ringing sharply throughout the jungle. Kankri was at his side, the omega pressing close as he covered his ears, Kurloz wrapping an arm around him protectively. He directed his attention to his mate, dipping down and nuzzling his cheek and jaw before turning towards Gamzee who was standing nearby, large ripped ears turned towards that shrill sound with interest.

"Brother." Kurloz called, the lanky, pitch-black Alpha looking over at him, fangs revealed by his wide open grin.

"Let's go see them, brother. I want to see them." His indigo eyes burned brightly against his black fur, the jagged silvery scars across his face twisting as he laughed and returned his attention to the ruins. "Karkat is there. I want to see him. I want to see the humans."

Kankri shifted uneasily against Kurloz's side, glancing up at his Prima and chirping softly. "Prima, please…" He worried for Karkat, worried over the hunger Gamzee still held for the small rouge omega. He'd rescued Karkat from Gamzee once before, but this time he was carrying pups. This time he wouldn't be able to intervene. Kurloz could sense his distress, nuzzling his omega again and crooning softly, a large hand pressed against Kankri's stomach, feeling the outline of the pups nestled within his petite frame.

"Do not fret, Bella. Trust in me." Kurloz's tone was soft, calm, the Alpha's deep voice resonating through his bondmate and calming Kankri's nerves near instantly. The rouge bat nodded slowly and pressed his face against his mate's side, the large pitch-black Prima glancing over to his brother once more and nodding his consent. "Go to them, but bring them back alive. Our Father would have us bring them to High Society. He intends to present them to Her Imperious Condescension with intimate intentions to court."

Gamzee laughed excitedly, nodding eagerly at the larger Alpha's words and setting his sights on the southern jungle, his rough ears littered with claw and bite marks, the silvery scars easily discernible against his black fur. "With pleasure!" He leapt into action, racing off towards the wreckage, wild excitement in his eyes as he tore through the jungle.

-x-x-x-

Equius had reached the ship just as it started collapsing. Unsure of what to do save wait for the humans to emerge, he scented the air, trying to locate Karkat. The omega was nearby, he could smell him within the ship, but there were other scents also, distracting him from the omega. Human scents; one scent stronger than the others, sickly-sweet and entrancing. He licked his lips, tongue drifting over his large fangs, turning towards the treeline behind him with surprise as he heard another bat approach, his eyes wide with shock and fear. The youngest Makara heir, Gamzee. The Alpha hadn't noticed him yet, and Equius quickly hid behind a large piece of wreckage, peeking out and watching the Alpha as he sniffed at the edge of the ship. Clicking excitedly as he circled the hull-breach above the pod-room, the lanky pitch Alpha dove down into the interior of the ship. Equius perked up his ears and listened to his movements until they faded out of hearing distance, growling low in the back of his throat and watching the shifting ship worriedly. He was a huge Fein for a beta, strong and powerful despite his presentation, but even he knew better than to go up against a Makara. Gamzee might be the more dangerous of the two heirs, after all. The lanky Alpha was ruthless and took delight in torture and death. Equius waited at the edge of the wreckage, debating on what he should do, Horuss' words ringing resolutely through his skull. If Karkat and the humans emerged from the ship and somehow evaded Gamzee, then he would approach them and offer them guidance to the grasslands far to the east. Until then he would watch, and wait.

-x-x-x-

Dave shuddered with relief as Karkat pulled him into the higher, steady ventilation shaft, trembling against the alien and clinging to him tightly, the bat twittering and tugging at his arm, urging him to move. The engineer nodded, ushering him forward and following dutifully after, scrambling through the short expanse of metal shaft and emerging into a small reading room, noting with confusion the blood dripping down from the ceiling and splattering slowly across several books. Karkat was already crawling up through the doors diagonal to the vent crawl space, the bat gathering John into his arms and looking at Dave with worry, trying to understand what it was he should do.

"He's still bleeding. He hit his face, he said his nose might be broken." Karkat's ears twitched towards the unresponsive boy, Dave climbing up beside him and reaching out to touch his face. His lips were turning blue.

"Shit! He can't breathe." He looked around the surrounding corridor and rushed off down the hall away from Karkat, finding the first door he could and slapping his hand against the seal to open it, but the doors didn't budge. There wasn't any power in this area of the ship. "Fuck! Karkat, come on! We're gonna have to carry him back, quickly! I can't access any of the supplies in this area!" He ran back to the bat's side, watching as the Fein picked up John and cradled him against his chest, the bat's red eyes flashing anxiously as he chirped and hurried after Dave, the two boys breaking out into a run as the ship started to fall once more.

Rose charted their path, bringing them to a room covered in vines, a staircase-like cluster of thick alien ivy woven together and stretched across the room. The ivy spread out into the adjacent rooms and arched up into the moonlight, guiding them to the surface. Dave climbed up as quickly as he could, Karkat kicking hard off of the floor and catching just enough of a gravity wave to hop up on top of the ship with John still cradled in his arms. The two boys didn't delay, running towards solid ground and away from the ship as fast as they could, listening to the shrill shrieking of the wreckage as it collapsed behind them. Dave threw himself against the writhing grass, exclaiming softly as those tendrils wrapped around his gloves and tickled the edge of his goggles, turning back to look at Karkat who was lowering John to the ground, hovering over him helplessly. Dave scrambled over to the other human's side, taking a deep breath and holding it while he removed his breathing mask, tugging John's bloody mask off and replacing it with his own, slapping the clogged mask over his face and trying to breathe the best he could. He watched John, waiting, coughing and holding his breath between gasps of air, nodding as he watched the blue tint around his lips slowly lessen and start to turn pink. That was what he wanted. John might be out cold, but at least he wasn't suffocating. He looked to Karkat, then stood to his feet and turned to look at the ship. It was trying to break apart down the middle, right at the seam the engineer had indicated before. It was sinking so slowly, Dave wasn't sure if it would have enough force to snap off clean or if it would drag the east wing down with it. He grit his teeth, taking off at a run, Karkat calling after him. He had to get into the pod room at least and grab another breathing mask, or one of them was going to suffocate, and he was pretty sure it wouldn't be John.

He ran around the circumference of the wreckage, avoiding the cliffs wherever he could, Rose highlighting the way and quickly leading him to his destination. The human slid down one of the slimy beams and reached the pod-room floor with a rolling tumble, John's bloody mask skittering across the floor out of reach. Holding his breath he headed for the broken air-lock, noticing it had been pried apart even further with sharp indentations from alien claws, and he ran down the hallway, taking only the smallest gasps of air he could manage, already dizzy from trying to breathe without a mask. He reached the med bay and Rose opened the doors automatically for him, Dave gasping in fresh air and coughing violently as he collapsed to the floor, groaning loudly and tugging off his rucksack and rappelling gear, then scrambling to his feet and finding a breathing mask immediately, securing it over his face. He raided the nearby cabinets, pulling out whatever supplies he managed to find and tossing them all into an empty duffel bag he took from the patient clothing locker. Assuming this may in fact be the last time they had access to any medical equipment if the entire ship fell into the void, Dave loaded up on spare goggles, masks, first aid supplies, as well as a couple of insulated bodysuits. He quickly instructed Rose to start downloading a copy of the blueprints for the purification chamber, his sights analyzing the mechanics and recording the breakdown of components as he gathered up his rucksack again, securing it across his chest. He left the rappelling gear behind. The kanata pressed along his back served as a firm reminder of how close to death he had just come, and he paused a moment to give silent thanks to whomever might be watching over him. He could feel Dirk with him, as close as the sword at his back. He stepped out into the hallway, debating on heading to the bunker for food and water provisions, but stopped dead in his tracks. There was a Fein there, one he hadn't seen before. The creature was tall and lanky with piercing indigo eyes, his fur jet black and his fangs on full display as he sauntered towards Dave's position. His face was a mess of scars and he had a crazed look in his eyes, Dave instinctively reaching for his sword, drawing the blade from its sheath and holding it up defensively as he slowly backed away towards the pod-room. He had a feeling that this Fein wasn't friendly, Karkat sure hadn't mentioned him yet, and he looked like he was roughed up from years of fighting. His ears, what was left of them, were torn, holey scraps of fur and silvery scar tissue. He sort of reminded Dave of an alley cat, crazy violent and manic.

The Fein pursued him as he backed away, clicking curiously and stepping closer with his long, wobbly stride, Dave tensing as he felt the ship shifting and creaking again, determined to get out of this situation and make it back to John. He kept moving backwards until he felt the press of a wall against his rucksack, and he shifted the medical supply duffel a bit higher on his shoulder, slowly guiding the strap up over his head and crossing it across his chest securely. There was no way he was dropping it. Not after all the trouble he'd gone through to get it. Now with both hands free he faced the Fein head-on, continuing to back away slowly as it stared him down, and then suddenly he heard a voice behind him. Karkat was there, racing to his side and moving past his shoulder to put himself between Dave and the black Fein, glaring up at the larger bat who was over twice his size.

"Friend of yours?" Dave asked shakily, but with the way Karkat was growling and snapping his fangs he quickly dismissed the idea. "Gonna take that as a 'no' then…"

"Get out of here, Dave." Karkat said over his shoulder, growling louder as the pitch Fein approached, the lanky bat making excited chittering sounds and addressing the smaller alien with laughter in his tone.

"There you are, Karkat! I knew I'd find you here, I knew it!" He chittered excitedly and reached out for the omega, Karkat hissing and snapping his fangs again, ushering Dave backwards towards the breached hull.

"I am outcast, Gamzee! To be shunned! You shouldn't be here!" He glanced back at Dave desperately, clearly stalling for time as he returned his gaze to the black bat before him, still gesturing for the human to make his escape while he redirected the larger Fein's attention. "Hasn't Kurloz told you not to come here? You know not to speak to me, it is forbidden!"

"Kurloz sent me to _find_ you, Karkat! To _bring_ you to him!" The larger Fein beamed, finally close enough to reach out and grab the smaller bat's forearm, Karkat chirping loudly as the larger Fein pulled him closer and dipped down to bury his face against his neck, crooning loudly and purring. "I've missed you Karkat, I've missed you!" He pressed his face and jaw against Karkat's, rubbing back and forth like a cat might scent their favorite toy, purring as he spoke. "We can be together now, can't we? You'll come back to me now, you'll come with the humans." He pressed his face to Karkat's neck and licked against his rouge fur, Karkat whining as his head was forced back and he nearly fell from being bent so drastically backwards, Gamzee holding him in place. "We'll bring them to High Society. Our Father will be _so_ pleased once he sees you with me! He will bless our union, he'll accept you into the court! We'll be together again, Karkat! We'll be together _forever_!"

Dave had initially turned to run, but something about those possessive words and the way he was touching Karkat sent a wave of anger washing over him more powerful than words could describe, rooting him in place. He could tell Karkat didn't want the larger bat touching him, the soft sounds he was making were simply heartrending. He was still trying to break away; trying to keep the larger male away from his throat, away from his face, soft sounds of distress escaping him as he pushed back against his large, scarred chest. "Gamzee, please! I am not yours, you _know_ that. I can never be yours! You have to let me go!"

"You're _mine_!" Gamzee snarled, Karkat yelping in fear as the Alpha snapped his fangs against his ear, nearly biting him where he held him so close. His purring had shifted abruptly to harsh threatening growls, the large bat tucking his face against Karkat's neck again and inhaling deeply, his anger slowly subsiding the longer his face was pressed against that soft, rouge fur. Eventually he started lapping at Karkat's neck again, then his ears, crooning softly, Karkat trembling where he stood, completely unresponsive to the other bat's touch.

Once he was satisfied with the first, Gamzee shifted to lap at Karkat's other ear, the smaller bat glancing over and catching the human's eyes, whispering softly so Dave could hear. "John's waiting for you. You have to go."

"I can't leave you like this." Dave said back just as softly, keeping his eyes trained on the larger Fein, who was ignoring them both completely as he bathed the small omega. "There has to be some way for me to help you…"

"He'll kill us both. Please. Go." Karkat held his gaze for a long moment, then shakily reached up and wrapped his arms around Gamzee's shoulders, the Alpha purring loudly and nuzzling into his neck with a contented sigh, squeezing too hard and causing Karkat to squeak softly in his grasp, struggling to breathe. "Go, Dave. You have to go…"

Gritting his teeth, struggling against the soft pleading in Karkat's eyes, Dave shoved his sword back in its sheath, turned on his heel and ran. He ran through the clawed doors of the broken airlock, clamouring up the fallen beam balanced above the slimy pool at the center of the pod room, bursting out into the open air of the steadily rising dawn. The moons were dipping low beyond the horizon and the sky was lighting up with bright white light shining down from the twin suns. Dave shielded his eyes for a moment before his goggles darkened even further, adjusting to the light so he could once again see his surroundings, calling out to Rose to locate John. He found the other human a short run later, a large Fein hovering over him, seemingly watching over him as John rested against the shifting grass, the boy still unconscious. Cautiously Dave approached the large bat. This Fein he recognized, stepping closer to Equius hesitantly, the blue-eyed alien glancing over at his approach.

"Where is Karkat?" he asked, looking past Dave and stepping closer, his one large ear trained on the ruins, listening for any sign of the smaller bat. Shifting his stuffed duffel bag to the ground beside John, Dave retrieved the tube of translators from his chest compartment and dropped one of the discs into his gloved palm. He tucked the translators away again, then approached the giant bat and gestured towards his ear, offering Equius the device. The bat seemed reluctant, but eventually took the small disc from Dave's hand, mimicking Dave's movements as the human showed him how to attach it to his sole remaining pinna, the device glowing blue as it synchronized with the other translators in use.

"He stayed behind," Dave replied to the bat's previous question, "There's this crazy guy with him, keeping him in there. Think I caught the name 'Gamzee', or somethin'...?" He watched Equius, trying to gauge his reaction. "Name ring any bells?"

Equius growled deeply, narrowing his eyes and taking a few steps towards the ship, watching the crumbling cliffs and clicking his tongue angrily, claws scratching along the metal surface of the nearby debris. "That idiot is going to get himself killed."

"Didn't really seem like he had much of a choice. That guy was all over him." Dave said, looking towards the ship as well. "He's way bigger than Karkat, and seemed stronger. He was forcing himself on him, hurting him…" His words seemed to cut into Equius, the Fein flinching and looking away, his ear twitching towards Dave's voice. "You two are friendly, right? Can you help him?"

"No. I don't dare." Equius' voice was soft, his expression torn. "He is the heir of the Makara clan. I am a Zahhak. I cannot go against him." He growled lowly, snorting angrily, eyes trained on the collapsing ruins. "Our clan is directly under their control. Our Prima follows The Grand Highblood. If I were to fight him, over Karkat...it could bring war between our clades."

Dave blinked, reaching up and rubbing at the back of his head a bit. "Yeah...I don't really know what any of that means. What I do know is, Karkat is in trouble, and you're probably the only one who can help him right now." He exhaled roughly, reaching back and gliding his fingertips along the hilt of his katana, debating on what he should do. "If you're not going to help him, I'm going to have to go back in there after him, and after sleeping for 900-billion years I might be a tad out of practice with this thing…"

The giant bat didn't respond, staring at the breach in the hull, listening, waiting. Dave watched him, glancing between the alien and the sinking ship, then exhaled and quickly set about removing his rucksack and strapping his katana to his bodysuit at a position that made it easier to draw. Equius watched him as he stepped forward towards the ruins, the bat calling after him as he walked away. "You can't seriously think you stand a chance against Gamzee Makara. What can you possibly do to help in this situation, human?"

Dave stopped for a moment, looking over his shoulder and meeting Equius' eyes, giving him a wide grin before continuing forward. "Y'know what, I'm not exactly sure what I can or cannot do either..." He gripped the hilt of his katana, the red and black sheath gleaming in the white sunlight. "...but I guess we're about to find out!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! More to come!


	8. Rise

"Dave, wait!" Karkat called, but the human continued running towards the pod-room, not responding and not looking back. The rouge bat stayed where he was, crouched at John's side, pivoting his pinnae back and forth between the collapsing ship, the boy before him, and the boy who had run off. He chirped in distress, leaning closer to kneel at John's side, pressing a large ear to his chest and listening intently through the thick layers of his bodysuit. There was a rhythmic pulse there, and a slow rise and fall of breath, Karkat clicking softly and withdrawing enough to look down at the human's bloody face again. He was alive. The Fein reached down carefully, cupping his palm against John's face, claws tapping delicately against the curve of his goggles and his breathing mask. His nose was still bleeding but the injury appeared to be clotting now, and though he remained unresponsive Karkat could sense he would survive. Leaning a bit closer, he pressed their foreheads together once more, shifting his other hand to the human's lying limp at his side, curling his clawed fingers around those thick gloves and squeezing as gently as he could. "John. John, please…"

"Karkat."

His body tensed, head shooting up with a loud, defensive growl, but it stuttered to a halt when he met eyes with Equius. The larger bat approached him quickly, glancing anxiously over his shoulder and coming to the omega's side, Karkat rising to his feet and looking up at the beta with a frown. "Why are you here again?"

"There's no time. We must flee from this place." The large bat was already walking forward, reaching out for Karkat's arm, but the smaller Fein withdrew with a snarl and sharp hiss, claws extending.

"Don't _touch_ me! Answer!" He demanded, growling and snapping his jaws as he glared up at the dark grey bat.

Equius quickly seemed to remember himself, taking a step backwards and frowning down at the smaller Fein, trying to reason with him. "I mean not to breach your boundaries, Karkat. Please." He tilted his ear back, brow crested with worry. "Gamzee is here. We must flee before-"

Karkat's eyes went wide and he shifted his sights from Equius to the ship behind him, senses on high alert. Normally he would have recognized the Alpha's scent in the area, but John's blood was all he could smell. He hadn't even noticed Equius, though the other bat had been so close. _Gamzee is here? Then Dave…_ He surged forward, brushing past Equius and calling over his shoulder with a sharp snap of his fangs, "Watch over John until I come back, Equius! Don't you _dare_ let anything happen to him or I won't forgive you!"

"Karkat!" The large Fein called, but the rouge bat was already running towards the wreckage. "You fool. You'll die…" Equius stood still for a moment before jerking at the sound of the ship moving, flattening his ear to his skull as it creaked and groaned, the vessel sinking further beyond the cliffs and into darkness. He growled and snorted angrily, looking away from the ship. He glanced in the direction in which Karkat had run, before peering down at the human lying near his clawed feet. He flicked his ear to the side and crouched down beside him, poking at his chest lightly, inhaling sharply as he realized the scent he had been drawn to before was the human's bright red blood. Though obviously injured he could tell the human was alive; he was still breathing slow and steady, the blood dripping down his face almost completely halted where it had begun to congeal along the edges of his mask. The large bat exhaled quietly, resigning himself to his fate. He would stay and watch over the human. While he feared Gamzee more than practically any other Fein he knew, it was Karkat whom he truly feared the most.

-x-x-x-

Karkat moved without thinking, putting himself between Dave and Gamzee, staring up into those indigo eyes and biting back the terror he felt at the Alpha's presence. It had been quite some time since they had faced one another like this, since the night Karkat had been declared an outcast and banished to live alone in the jungle. Yet despite the time that had transpired between that night and this, Gamzee still seemed delusional about the faux relationship between them. Karkat had never felt anything but cold disdain towards the youngest Makara. There was no affection there, only fear and hate.

Still, Gamzee prattled on, talking nonsense with increasing fervor, grinning wide as he spoke with broad, unstable gestures, trying to pull Karkat closer and scent him. He kept speaking of the life they would share together once they were bonded in the eyes of the Highblood. It was a disgusting, cruel joke. Karkat would rather die than be bound to the insane Alpha. Gamzee had almost killed him once before, the silvery scar across Karkat's neck the only mark the Alpha had ever left to show his unyielding affection towards the omega. It if hadn't been for Kankri begging for his life to be spared, and Kurloz relenting long enough to heal the omega before he was banished, Karkat wouldn't be alive right now to face down his fears a second time.

He pleaded with Dave to flee, even as Gamzee managed to grab hold of him and pull him close. His omega instincts were _screaming_ to submit to the Alpha scenting him, Karkat using the last of his strength to convince the human to run. As soon as Dave turned on his heels and ran down the corridor he collapsed under Gamzee's overwhelming strength, chirping softly in distress as the pitch bat continued to assault him. He fought back his panic, holding perfectly still when the Alpha bit into his shoulder and neck to taste his blood, crooning deeply in satisfaction. Karkat wheezed, struggling to breathe as the larger bat unknowingly crushed the breath from his lungs, his vice-like grip constricted too tightly to allow him to take a full breath.

"G-Gamzee...please…" Karkat begged, gasping at the sensation of the Alpha drinking down warm mouthfuls of his rich omega blood. Gamzee's fangs were hollow at the tips, releasing venom throughout his bloodstream as he drank, the toxins willing Karkat to further submit. The omega struggled against his hold, letting out a stuttering keen, already experiencing a head-rush from the deep drags Gamzee was pulling from his small frame and the toxins coursing through his system. "You're hurting me. Please, I can't breathe…"

He clawed at the Alpha's shoulders desperately, choking and struggling for air, Gamzee tightening his jaw and growling deeply, demanding the omega stay still. He drank from him for several long moments, Karkat flicking his ears to the side as he listened to the ship collapsing around them, whining and inhaling shakily within Gamzee's too-tight grasp. Slowly he felt himself relaxing, his muscles unclenching and his head feeling foggy, the Alpha's venom doing its work and making the omega pliant beneath him. Finally, once he had quenched his thirst, the Alpha pulled away and released him, Karkat dropping from his arms to the tilted floor. He hit his head hard against the metal wall behind him as he fell, coughing violently as he took in deep gasps of air, his vision cloudy. He lay there, unmoving, fingers twitching a bit as he tried to make his body respond, tried to force himself to his feet so he could run, but he was drunk on venom. Completely at mercy of the Alpha hovering over him. Gamzee appeared in his line of sight a moment later, grinning down at him while his large dark tongue lapped across his blood-smeared lips and flitted over his large fangs, crooning down at the small omega. He crouched down at his side, reaching out and petting across Karkat's rouge fur, resting a hand over his stomach and chittering excitedly.

"You're going to carry my pups."

"Yeah...I don't think so."

Karkat's pinnae twitched towards the sound of that familiar voice, his foggy mind trying to force words from his mouth, but he couldn't speak. He keened softly, clenching one of his hands before the venom forced him to relax fully again, the smaller bat shivering lightly as he lay against the floor, frustrated tears gathering in his eyes. _No no no, please Dave. He'll kill you. He'll kill you and force me to anyway. Don't do this…_

Gamzee's full attention was on the human that had appeared once more in the hallway, the pitch Alpha clicking curiously as he hovered over Karkat, not wanting to leave the prone omega alone to pursue the human. He hovered there, swaying back and forth indecisively, his large claws extending as he growled threateningly, a territorial display. Karkat chirped up at him, trying to draw his attention, but it wasn't enough to distract Gamzee from Dave anymore. He gradually found the strength to turn his head, tears slipping down his cheeks as he focused on Dave, chirping and keening softly in distress, trying to will the human to back away to no avail. Dave was holding the sword once more, gloved hands secured steadfast along the hilt. The human was silent, sizing up the Alpha leaning over Karkat, his eyes focused only on Gamzee despite the omega's every effort to draw his eyes. Growling softly Karkat fought against his instincts, fought against the hold of the venom, fought as desperately as he could to rise. Nothing worked. He couldn't move yet. He would have to wait for the toxins to subside. He was forced to lay there and watch as Gamzee stepped over his body, moving closer to the human confronting him, the smaller Fein terrified that he was about to watch helplessly as the Alpha ripped him apart.

-x-x-x-

Dave backed away slowly as the lanky black Fein pursued him, his katana poised defensively before him. He coaxed the scarred bat closer, taking a careful step back with each step that Gamzee took forward, wanting to draw him as far away from Karkat as possible before either of them made a move to attack. The Alpha was drooling slightly as he panted open-mouthed at the human, a crazed expression across his face, Dave noticing a discernable flush across his features beneath his jet black fur. He didn't know exactly what the giant bat had done to Karkat, but whatever it was the rouge bat was out of commission and the larger Fein looked even more out of his mind than he had before. Knowing full well the alien couldn't understand him, he talked aloud anyway, coaxing him closer and closer to the pod-room.

"Yeah that's it...come on now big boy. I know you wanna try a nice, juicy piece of lil' ol' Davey…"

The Fein continued clicking and chittering as he stalked after Dave, his claws extended and his shoulders hunched. As soon as he went still and gathered himself on his back haunches Dave fell into a defensive stance, grounding his footing. When Gamzee leapt for him he surged forward to meet his attack. He side-stepped away from the alien as the large bat leapt past him, slicing his blade harshly into the meaty flesh of his arm and side. He pulled back his blade and took a defensive stance once more, tisking softly when he noticed his blade was practically bloodless. He realized despite the strength he'd put behind his attack he must have just barely grazed the surface. He couldn't even see if he'd left a mark across the alien's tough, furry hide. Their fur must act as some sort of natural armor, dulling the brunt of his blade. Guess that meant it was time to try out Phase Two of his plan, the engineer grinning as he flicked his fingertip along the hidden groove in the katana's hilt. He watched in fascination as red photon light seared up the length of the blade and illuminated the metal in pulsing neon red. Damn, she was pretty. Dirk must have finally found the time needed to finish his little side project after the crash landing. The last time Dave had seen this sword she'd still been a work in progress. He'd never witnessed her alight.

"Alright, Bro. Let's see what damage your lil' Cherry Bomb can really do."

When Gamzee leapt at him once more, Dave ran forward and slid across the metal floor on his knees, raking the photon blade upwards along his underbelly, piercing deep. The blade hissed as it cut into the alien, a burning, charred scent quickly filling the air, the blade slicing into his stomach and through his guts, chunks of seared meat falling from his bowels and thudding dully across the corridor floor. Dave twisted his hands sharply and yanked the blade free, eyes on the wounded bat as he stumbled backwards, the human tumbling to his feet and fluidly resuming a defensive stance. His brother had taught him many things, swordplay and martial arts among them. He'd been sparring with a stronger opponent since he was old enough to carry a sword. He wasn't about to back down from this challenge without fighting as hard as he could. Karkat had saved him twice now. It was his turn to save Karkat.

Gamzee was screeching uncontrollably, covering his spilling guts and slamming his shoulder hard into the closest wall, trying to remain upright. Dark indigo blood poured in gushing rivers from the cauterized fissure Dave had carved down his chest and stomach, a full zipper opening from sternum to pelvis. Giant alien or not, there was no way he was recovering easily from that, if he would survive at all. Glowering vehemently and widening his powerful jowls to reveal his dripping fangs, the pitch Fein surged forward again. Dave cried out sharply when the bat knocked him backwards and skipped him across the hallway floor, his body flying through the hall like a flat stone skipping across the surface of a pond. The human slammed back against one of the fallen beams in the pod-room, splashing thick slime everywhere, the giant pool in the middle of the room somewhat cushioning his impact but knocking the breath from his lungs nonetheless. White sunlight streamed down from overhead, causing the slime to shine brightly where it covered his suit in fluorescent green, the human blinking away spots in his vision. Dave was almost too distracted to jerk to the side at the last second as Gamzee leapt for him with outstretched claws, the human grasping his sword hard and jerking it upright, feeling those claws rake against his bodysuit and closing his eyes as the Fein began to fall.

It was over in an instant, Dave hearing the loud splash as his twitching body collapsed into the pool. Dave opened his eyes quickly and scrambled backwards towards the hall, breathing hard as he watched the Fein struggle to right himself unsuccessfully, quickly bleeding out. The photon blade was lodged through his neck, piercing through his spinal column and jutting out the back side, Gamzee gurgling as he took his final breaths then slumped into the noxious slime, going limp and still. Dave stayed where he was, trying to catch his breath and still his racing heart, forcing himself back to his feet while adrenaline still swept through his veins. He stepped over to the lifeless body, reaching under him and finding the hilt of the kanata, shoving him up just enough to pull the blade free from his corpse. He flicked the switch in the hilt to deactivate the neon red light, sheathing the blade with shaky movements before turning and racing down the hallway, searching for Karkat.

The smaller Fein chirped as Dave ran into view, the human panting hard and kneeling down beside him, slime and blood dripping down his bodysuit, but Dave was too hyped up to really feel the extent of his injuries. He knew Gamzee's claws had made contact in the end, but he couldn't stop to think about it now. He had to get them out of there. Trying to reign in his breath enough that he could speak, Dave hovered his hands over Karkat's chest and arm, watching the rouge bat apprehensively. "Hey Karkat, you still with me? Can you speak?"

"Dave…" he managed to chirp softly, the human watching as the Fein struggled to rise, twitching as he flexed his claws and shifted against the floor, a high-pitched whine caught in his throat.

"Easy now, I've gotcha." He scooped up the bat bridal-style, hoisting him up against his chest and feeling the bat cling to him weakly, turning to begin walking towards the exit. "You just hang tight, Karkat. We're gettin' outta here."

"Gamzee…?" Karkat asked softly, Dave not replying as he returned to the pod room, letting Karkat see what he could for himself as he circumnavigated the corpse, the once lime-green slime pool now a dark indigo-black.

He wasn't quite sure how he managed to get them both out of the pod room, but with the adrenaline coursing through him he got them both to the surface. He pushed Karkat up and out of the ship first then climbed up after him, picking up the bat once he'd gotten his footing and trotting steadily away from the ship, panting softly as he felt his legs start to give. He must be losing more blood that he'd originally thought, he was sweating and he ached all over, and he could feel himself getting weak. It didn't take much effort to find Equius and John again, the larger bat stepping over to meet them and taking Karkat from Dave, the human collapsing the moment Equius pulled away. He rolled onto his back, groaning loudly as he stared up at the bright sky, feeling the sweat dripping down his forehead and neck slicking his blonde locks against his clammy skin.

"Damn, I could really go for a cold, tall glass of Mama's sweet tea right now…" He groaned and turned his head, trying to focus on Karkat and Equius, the ringing in his ears starting to drown out their voices as sweat fogged his goggles' slime-splattered sights. The white noise was soothing, it reminded him of cicadas. He grinned and shook his head, blinking away the spots in his vision. He was definitely on the verge of passing out.

Karkat was fighting the venom the best he could, tilting his ears up towards Equius, the beta watching him with concern. "Get Dave...John...to bridge…" He managed to say slowly, struggling to speak as he looked up at Equius, the other bat holding him against his broad chest, frowning at his request.

"You're concerned about _them_ right now? Karkat, I can't-"

"Please." His voice was soft, chirping as frustrated tears fell languidly down his cheeks. "Do this...for me..."

Growling stubbornly, Equius held Karkat a bit tighter to his chest. "I'm not going to leave you here, Karkat. Gamzee-"

"Dead…" Karkat said, closing his eyes a bit and swallowing thickly, his ears dipping back as he added, "Dave...killed him..."

Equius stood there, stunned beyond all belief. "You're telling me that _human_ actually killed him? _Gamzee Makara_ is _dead_?"

"Yes…" Karkat hiccuped softly, pressing his fingertips to Equius' chest and looking up at him, pleading. "Take them...safety…" He chirped softly, tightening his grip on the beta's chest. "Please, Eq…"

The bat was still for a quiet moment before slowly lowering Karkat to the ground. They were a safe enough distance away from the ship that if it fell the omega would be out of harm's way. He hovered over him, Karkat reaching up to touch his arm gingerly, giving him a small, grateful smile. He lingered there for a moment before moving away, gathering Dave and John carefully, tucking one human under each arm and starting to run towards the ravine. Karkat listened to them go, his ears twitching to follow the sounds of their departure, closing his eyes and laughing softly, tears still streaking slowly down his cheeks. He was free. He was finally free. Gamzee would never be able to touch him again.

-x-x-x-

Kurloz felt it the moment Gamzee's life left his body, the Alpha jolting up from his place beside Kankri, the omega chirping softly and sitting up from their nest. "Kurloz? What's wrong?"

The Alpha was already walking out of the den, his giant ears trained towards the southern jungle, a low, thunderous growl growing steadily in his chest. He stood at the mouth of the cave, listening, waiting, narrowing his eyes as he opened his mouth and scented the air. Blood. Lots of it. Both Gamzee's and another's, the sweetest scent he'd ever tasted before. Sweeter even than Kankri. He had heard of that scent from his sire; it was the purest scent, the most divine, beyond delectable. Human blood. He tensed for a moment as he felt pressure against his side, then glanced down and relaxed again, wrapping his arm around the confused omega who'd followed after him. Kankri chirruped softly, pressing gingerly against his mate's side, and Kurloz returned his attention to the south, words soft as he spoke. "My brother is dead."

Kankri inhaled softly in disbelief, his red eyes going wide as he looked to the south. Gamzee...was dead? The omega frowned, his eyes and ears fixated towards the ruins. It didn't make any sense, nearly inconceivable. Gamzee's prowess as an Alpha, and the heir of The Grand Highblood, was renown. He was silent for a short interval, still in disbelief, then the omega looked back up to his Alpha, whispering, "Surely not...what could have happened? Gamzee is a Makara Alpha, who could have…?"

"Humans." The Alpha replied softly, "With or without Karkat's help, I cannot be certain...but I do know this." He met Kankri's eyes, the omega's ears dipping back under the Alpha's dark gaze. "Gamzee is dead. His presence upon this realm is extinguished. I must go to retrieve his body from the ruins." He looked towards the south again, watching the giant avians flying overhead. "There are rituals to be performed upon the body. I must tell Our Father."

Kankri didn't follow after him as the Alpha stepped away, pivoting his ears towards the guards nearby as they stepped over to listen to their Prima. They listened intently to his every word, bowing as they moved quickly to follow his commands, Kankri slowly sneaking past them while they were distracted. He padded around the far side of the inner sanctum and away from the den, running into the jungle as soon as he was sure he wasn't being followed. He had very little time, and he had to find Karkat.

-x-x-x-

Slowly his strength returned to him, Karkat pushing himself up off of the grass and wincing as he sat upright, blinking slowly. He felt heavy and sluggish, his head swimming, but he could tell the toxins were slowly fading from his body, allowing him to once again begin to gradually move his body as he liked. He looked around and noticed the rucksack and duffel the humans had left behind, gingerly getting to his feet and stepping closer to collect the abandoned bags, pulling their straps across his chest and shoulders. He stood there silently once they were secured, watching the ship ruins slowly collapsing into the darkness, now almost completely submerged beyond the cliffs as the ground crumbled under the weight of the wreckage. Gamzee's body would be lost during the fall.

He snorted in disgust at the thought of the Alpha, turning his back to the ship and starting the long trek towards the bridge. Limping and staggering drunkenly he set a slow, determined pace. He still wasn't in full control of his body, but he had to put as much distance as he possibly could between himself and the wreckage before the ravine swallowed it down whole. If the clutch beyond the trees wasn't already on their way to investigate they would be very soon. Kurloz would undoubtedly sense his broodmate was dead and come to collect the body. Karkat didn't know everything about their religion or their ritualistic traditions, but he knew enough to understand there were certain sacraments involved once one of their clutchmates died.

When The Grand Highblood had taken Kankri and Karkat into the clutch before leaving for High Society, the High Priest had bound the Makara and Vantas heirs together. There had been a lengthy bonding ritual to promise Kankri to Kurloz. The same bonding ritual had eventually taken place again, to bind Karkat to Gamzee. The bond, though promised, had never been fulfilled. Karkat had refused to mate with the Alpha even after the ritual. Gamzee, in his anger, had nearly ripped out Karkat's throat.

The omega broodmates were the last of their clade; rare, exotic, coveted rouges. Once discovered living on their own in the northern jungle they had quickly been taken in and integrated into the Makara clutch under the Highblood's command. The only reason Karkat had not been killed when he eventually refused to mate with Gamzee was because Kurloz had intervened as the clan's new Prima, banishing him for his transgression instead of allowing Gamzee to rip him apart and devour him.

The Makaras were extremely traditional and believed deeply in their faith, and Karkat feared more than anything if Kurloz were to find out Gamzee had marked him before he died he would be trapped in the Makara clade forever. He was still technically bound to the Alpha, even if it was in promise alone, and now that his neck was marked he would be traditionally seen as property of the deceased Makara. He was now, in the eyes of the clutch, the Makara heir's widow. The realization made his stomach churn, Karkat pressing his fingertips gingerly against the puncture wounds along the curve of his neck and shoulder. Gamzee had marked him deep. It would leave behind an unmistakable scar. A scar that would never fade, a mark that would bind them even in death. It was terrifying to think about.

His pinnae picked up movement in the trees nearby, snapping Karkat out of his thoughts. The omega quickly ducked down against the tall grass, flattening his ears to his skull. He breathed as quietly as he could, listening to the sounds of the Fein approaching. He lay perfectly still, his red eyes trained on the tree-line to try and decipher the origin of the sounds growing closer, lifting one of his ears and tilting it towards the trees curiously. He sniffed a bit, scenting the air, his eyes widening when he realized who was approaching. Kankri. He pushed himself up, chirping softly to draw the other omega's attention, and when the Bella burst through the trees a moment later Karkat stood wobbly to his feet to greet him, the older omega rushing to his side.

"Karkat, oh thank goodness! I was worried I'd be too late!" He gingerly stepped closer, panting softly to catch his breath, the older Fein looking around their surroundings cautiously, eyes darting between the collapsing ship and the trees. "You're alone?"

Karkat hesitated, unsure of how much he should say. He knew part of Kankri still cared for him, but he also knew the omega was fiercely loyal to his Alpha. "Yes. I'm alone." He shifted the weight of the bags he carried lightly against his frame, tilting his ears towards the taller rouge, offering his broodmate a sad little smile. "I have to go, Kankri. You shouldn't be here. Kurloz will find you."

"I know, I know…" The Fein shared a long look for a quiet moment before Kankri stepped forward and gingerly wrapped his arms around Karkat's neck, hugging him gently before stepping back and glancing away. "I couldn't stand it, the thought that I might never see you again…" His ears were tucked back, his tone soft and full of regret. "I should have done more to protect you. I wish we could return to the way things were before."

Karkat smiled softly, reaching over and squeezing his hand, Kankri looking over and meeting his eyes once more. "Thank you for looking after me, even as an outcast. I hope you find happiness here." He leaned forward slowly, brushing his nose along the curve of Kankri's jaw and taking in his scent one last time before pulling away. "Be safe, Bella. Do not follow."

Kankri didn't reach for him again as Karkat stepped away, chirping softly as he departed. The remaining Fein lingered only a few moments longer before turning and running back into the trees, heading back towards his clutch. Karkat exhaled shakily, continuing towards the bridge, his eyes focusing on the horizon. He had to get to Dave...and John.

-x-x-x-

John blinked open his eyes slowly, grimacing at the pain radiating across his face and the coppery tang of blood in his mouth and throat. He shifted a bit, trying to curl in on himself, but found he couldn't move. He was being held in place by something too sturdy and heavy to budge, quickly glancing around to get his bearings and realizing he wasn't on the ground at all. He was floating, being carried through the air. The giant slime pools of the cavern adjacent to the bridge filled his goggles' sights, the emerald pools glittering in the sunlight far, far below. He inhaled sharply and pain zinged through his sinuses, coughing roughly and squeezing his eyes shut as he fought back pain-induced tears. _Yikes_ that hurt! His nose was definitely dislocated, if not fully broken. He turned his head, realizing with a start he wasn't the only one being carried. Dave was there too, looking similarly disoriented, his limbs hanging limp as he was carried underarm towards the opposite side of the cliffs. They landed a few moments later, John kicking a bit and calling out to whoever was carrying them. He couldn't see anything but the Fein's large back, and after several attempts at calling out the alien holding him dropped him to the ground, John landing atop the grass with a soft grunt and pushing himself upright. When he looked up he met eyes with Equius, the large bat tilting his ear towards John and exhaling loudly, his frown pulled back to reveal a large fang as he growled soft and low. He carried Dave still, turning and walking towards the hull breach of the fragmented ship leading to the bridge, John calling after him with an outstretched arm.

"Wait! Wait a second, where's Karkat? Why isn't he here too?" The Fein grumbled a reply over his shoulder, but John couldn't understand without a translator, the human cursing under his breath and chasing after the bat who seemed content to leave him behind now that he was conscious. He was slower than Equius but eventually caught up with him as the large Fein reached the fractured double doors leading into the Captain's bridge. John stepped up beside him slowly and gestured to Dave, the alien standing still and allowing John to take Dave from beneath his arm, immediately turning to leave. The blonde boy groaned softly, John realizing his bodysuit was covered in blood, deep gashes that resembled claw marks raked down both of his sides. Suit padding was sticking out everywhere, the slashes easily deep enough to rend the skin beneath the protective layering. He squeezed between the double doors with Dave at his side, dragging the engineer to the med bay and slapping his hand against the panel for entry while he called out for Rose. "Redirect all available deck power to med bay purification chamber immediately! Shut down everything that isn't essential, Rose. We have to stop Dave's bleeding!"

Rose's voice called out from the intercom above, echoing through the waiting room and treatment area. _Due to fractured healing pod cylinder, med bay purification chamber is non-functional. Any requested medical treatment will be dispersed throughout the entire treatment bay, rendering medical treatment diluted and inefficient to adequately assist injured personnel. Please seek out the nearest Med Bay to-_

John was already walking towards the chamber, the scattered glass crunching under his boots as he pulled Dave inside the broken chamber, lowering him down to rest with his back against the glass and crouching down beside him. "There is no other bay! This is the last one!" He checked the information in his sights as he worked, scanning the chamber and cataloguing the damage, trying to figure out what else if anything he could do, but there was no other option. "Do it Rose, do whatever you can! Initiate medical treatment, on my authority! You have my full understanding and express consent!"

The computer recalculated for several long moments before chiming again. _Affirmative, Captain. Please clear area surrounding cylinder doors._ John looked back towards the entrance portal leading into the chamber, kicking a large chunk of glass out of the way of the sliding pod door. He clearing the area surrounding the entryway the best he could with his boots and gloves, until finally the computer spoke up again. _Requested treatment will begin in thirty seconds. Full medical analysis and decontamination proceedings are expected to function at 27% due to structural damage. To administer full healing on par with starfleet regulations, requested purification and treatment systems may run several attempts in succession. Energy reserves at 84%._

"Do whatever you need to do, Rose." John replied, tugging off Dave's mask and goggles and quickly stripping off his shredded suit, shoving the fabric down to his waist and exposing the extent of his dual injuries. The other boy winced and groaned again softly, clearly in pain, reaching for one of John's hands and squeezing his fingers lightly.

"Easy there, kid…" He wheezed, glancing around hazily at the spider-webbed glass and the lightning-bolt fracture cut down the side of the cylinder. He was careful of the glass littering the floor around them as he repositioned himself a bit higher against the glass wall, hissing softly through his teeth. "I'm not feelin' so hot. Fucker really musta got me there at the end…" He met John's eyes, giving him a little smile. "How're you? Doin' alright?"

John didn't reply, backing out of the chamber just as the doors began to close, leaving Dave inside on his own, pressing a gloved hand to the outside of the chamber as medication started filling the chamber from above. The aerosol quickly began pouring out of the broken cylinder and filling the entire bay, John pulling off his mask and goggles and coughing roughly as he felt his nose start to prickle. The second-hand treatment in the air might just be enough to heal his face if he reset the bone quickly.

Finding a full-length mirror against one of the walls near the empty supply cabinet he tugged off his gloves, gently removing his bent spectacles and setting the small crescent-shaped device aside, hissing as he pressed his fingers to either side of his nose. This was definitely going to sting. He inhaled sharply and snapped his nose back in place, letting out a sharp scream before biting at his bottom lip to silence himself, hot tears falling down his cheeks. The moment his scream died down he opened his mouth with a soft curse, panting heavily through the pain. Wincing and blinking back tears, John glanced over at the healing pod, his blurry eyes unable to truly focus without assistance from his spectacles. He took his time, walking over to the side of the fractured pod and sliding down the glass to sit with his back to Dave's, the other astronaut calling out to him once more through the thick glass as the room continued to fill with medication.

"Good to see you awake there, Johnny Boy. You had us worried for a minute."

"It's really good to see you too." John called back, smiling gently as he rested his head back against the dense glass. "Sorry I passed out on you guys. I came to help and ended up being a burden myself."

Dave grimaced, coughing a bit and inhaling sharply against the bite of the treatment, hissing as his skin started stitching back together. "Seems like both of us are getting into more trouble than we bargained for. I'm ready for a nap after this."

John laughed, the sound bright as it echoed off the metal walls, Dave chuckling softly as well and resting while the healing treatment did what it could do. It was quiet for a while, then John stood back up and walked over to the mirror to inspect his face, inhaling tentatively to see if he could breathe again without pain rushing through his sinuses. His face was bruising around his eyes and nose but he could tell the bone had reset correctly, and the longer he breathed in the medication the more the bruising began to fade away. Assessing he had no further injuries, John quickly collected his bent specs, his goggles, breathing mask, and gloves, reequipping them all as he walked towards the waiting room, calling back to Dave, "I'm going to find Karkat! I'll keep the live stream on!"

"Wait, take this!" Dave called, standing up and tugging at the shredded suit material bunched at his waist. A few seconds later he retrieved a tube from his chest compartment, opening it and taking a small disc from inside. "Here, it's an updated translator. It'll synchronize automatically with the others once it's equipped." He offered it to John, reaching up through the fissure and waiting for the other boy to take it, careful not to press against the edges of the jagged glass as he reached through. The dark-headed boy walked back over to the cylinder quickly, reaching up to retrieve it. Mimicking Dave's motions he lifted the device to his ear. It slid into place with a soft hum, connecting to the already active program, Dave giving him a thumbs up as it lit up and synced successfully. John nodded to him his thanks and turned away, returning to the waiting room area, waving over his shoulder to Dave right as he reached the doors. "Careful out there!" Dave called as John exited the med bay, quickly trotting the short distance from the med-bay to the holodeck. He stood before the large table, swiping his palm across the air and bringing up a map of their location. Switching the readings to infrared thermal, John zoomed back in, trying to locate the bat's location before he set out into the wilds.

He evaluated the areas surrounding the bridge, pinching his fingers then panning out a bit until he could see the other half of the ship to the west, noting how it was almost completely vertical now, still creeping deeper and deeper into the ravine. It seemed any second it would disappear down into the dark and be lost forever. It was dragging down the east wing with it, the entire ship almost completely gone. "Damn…" John whispered under his breath, sighing heavily. He'd worry about what they were going to do for food and water after he located Karkat, mapping out the path between the bridge and the sinking wings slowly, until finally he located two heat signatures along the path, headed their way. He could only hope the signatures were Karkat and Equius. He tapped his scanner, calling out to Rose as he left the hologram deck and started towards the outside doors, "Show me that location in my sights, Rose. Track the progression of thermal signatures on approach to bridge."

_Affirmative, Captain. Tracking thermal signatures._

He ran outside, climbing up out of the corridor and out into the light, his goggles tinting as he walked along the top of the ship, cupping his hands around his face like a makeshift visor until his sights darkened enough that he could see. "Show me thermals, Rose." The map appeared in his vision, John following the readings and feeling for the fluctuating gravity as he stepped down onto the grass, heading towards the cliffs slowly. They were still a ways away, he would have to cross the expanse alone.

Nervous for his first solo flight, John kicked off of the ground experimentally as the next wave of gravity passed, the wind lifting him with little effort and drawing him up into the air. Whooping softly at the sudden rush, he twisted his body around to a better position and trained his eyes on the other side of the cliffs. He had to be brave. He wanted to meet up with Karkat as quickly as he could. What had happened while he was passed out? Who or what had injured Dave? He took a deep breath then shifted forward on the next wave of gravity, riding it higher and higher above the canyon, not daring to look down.

He kept his eyes forward towards his destination as he rose. The wind swept him up higher than he'd originally intended, and he gasped in delight at the strange sensation, laughing and sitting back a bit, his arms out in front of him and his feet kicking up towards the trees. He'd never been this high before when he'd been with Karkat. Fighting back his anxiety he twisted his body back around, rolling into the arching position he wanted, his stomach sinking a bit as the suspended wave of gravity fell. That dipping roller coaster feeling spread up his spine like wildfire, and he whooped again at those electrifying, shuddering chills that washed over his body. He righted himself once more then dipped back towards the surface on the next wave, slowly figuring out how to control his movements mid-air. He rode the waves in sloping intervals, ascending and descending in fluid arcs, feeling the warmth of the suns against his back as he continued across the ravine. He flew further still, soaring over the writhing grasses stretched out across the jungle floor. It was much faster than walking, that was for sure.

A sudden gust of wind took him soaring high above the tree-tops, the ground fading away far below. At this height his sights were able to map out details for miles and miles around, John reaching up to tap at his scanner to make sure the live-stream was still connected, hoping Dave was also enjoying the spectacular view. He could clearly make out the bridge, the sinking wreckage, and the towering trees of the jungle surrounding them to the north, while a giant expanse of water stretched out far across the south. It must be a sea, it looked as big as the oceans on Earth. The view was amazing. Better than anything he could have previously imagined. Distracted with his flying and observations, he barely noticed the passing shadows circling overhead until he heard a loud bird call sound directly behind him.

He jerked to the side, a large avian creature swooping down beside him and flying just over his shoulder, four large eyes watching him curiously. It didn't seem aggressive, its wingspan much greater than John had anticipated, the creature nearly as large as a whole corridor of the spaceship from one wingtip to the other. Its feathers were dark like a raven's, each plume highlighted with rainbow colors akin to glossy oil, the bird cawing loudly again and watching him, intelligence shining in its quadruple eyes. John wasn't sure if he should make any sounds, staring up at the bird with wide eyes, heart hammering in his chest. Rose chimed up suddenly in his ear, startling John so badly he flipped forward through the air a few times before regaining his balance, the bird swooping down to his level again and resuming a steady glide beside him, still watching him closely.

Quietly, he called out to the computer, trying not to panic as his newfound friend's attention. "What was that Rose? What did you say?"

_Thermal readings indicate destination approaching._

Oh wow, that was faster than John had expected. How long had he been flying around up here anyway? He looked to the ground, focusing on the signatures in the distance, frowning lightly when he realized there weren't two anymore. There were dozens. Mostly clustered around the sinking wreckage. John refocused his sights again, calling out to Rose. "Show me tracking for the two original signatures?"

_Affirmative, Captain. Signature one is directly below. Signature two is ascending._

"Ascending…?" John cleared his sights and looked around the open air, beaming as he glanced down and saw the Fein he'd been looking for rising to meet him. Laughing happily as the bat ascended to his height and reached out for him, John grinned and clung to him happily, crying a bit as he met eyes with Karkat. "Oh you're alright! I was so worried, you have to tell me what happened after I passed out, I-"

"What are you _doing_ up here? Are you _crazy_?" The Fein pulled him closer and tucked John quickly behind him, the bat looking up at the avian who was flying along beside them and bowing his ears back respectfully. "Please accept my sincerest apologies, Great One. The earless one is unfamiliar with our laws." He shifted them back slowly, riding the waves of gravity to a slightly lower angle away from their observer, putting space between them and the giant crow. "We regret to have disturbed you, Great One. Please allow us to descend. We will trespass here no longer. You have our deepest apologies."

The avian watched Karkat and John for a long moment before fanning out its giant feathers and banking against the wind, ascending towards the other giant crows that were circling overhead with a sharp, piercing cry. It rejoined the hovering flock, their shadows slowly dispersing as they returned to the towering jungle canopy. Karkat kept firm hold of John's wrist the entire time, and the moment he felt they were safe the bat began to descend, tugging John along behind him and scolding him the entire time.

"I cannot _believe_ I went through the trouble of convincing Equius to get you two to safety and somehow you _still_ have the _ludicracy_ to put yourself _directly_ in harm's way. What the actual fuck, John?"

Laughing nervously, John glanced back towards the avians flitting between the treetops and allowed himself to be tugged along, unsure of how to apologize for the apparent peril he had put himself in yet again. "Uh, it seems it worked out alright…?"

"Unbelievable!" Karkat continued, clicking and chittering as he tightened his grip on John's wrist, the gravity slowly lulling them back and forth through the air currents, the wind sweeping by causing them to ascend for a moment before Karkat tugged them back down again. "Does the afterlife appeal to you that much? Tell me honestly. Are you completely unaware of how close you've come to death multiple times today?" He chirped angrily between his words, undoubtedly cursing so colorfully that the translator wasn't sure how to convert such words so John could understand. " _Unbelievable_!" The Fein repeated, as if still trying to wrap his head around John's decisions. "I cannot fathom what sheer unadulterated _idiocy_ goes through that _thick human skull_ of yours! You are the _worst_ example of any species I have _ever_ met at keeping yourself alive!" They drew closer and closer to the ground, Karkat glaring over at him with a deep pout, his fangs flashing angrily as he spoke. "Not only did you leave the safety of the bridge you ascended _far_ above Fein territory and breached _huge_ social protocol by flying in The Great Ones' territory! It is _only_ after _eons_ of failed attempts that we have come to a mutual understanding and forged an agreement not to quarrel with one another." As his feet touched down on the grass below, Karkat pulled John down with him, huffing softly as he looked away from the human to Equius, who was waiting nearby with two bags, clearly displeased. "The Great Ones used to _eat_ Fein! I'm sure they would have no reason not to devour a human whole, especially for trespassing!" He shook his head, glaring back at John as he chided, "We are lucky that he did not punish our trespass by choosing to eat us _both_!"

"He should be wary of being devoured regardless." Equius grumbled, flicking his ear to the side when Karkat rounded on him and hissed.

" _Fein_ do _not_ eat humans." He growled, keeping John close to his side. "Even the Makaras, they haven't in generations. It's barbaric to even think about."

Equius gave the smaller bat an incredulous look, beginning to walk across the ground again, nearing the edge of the ravine. "The only reason the Makaras stopped eating humans is because they were thought to be extinct. Do you truly believe that the Highblood has any other intentions with them?" He shook his head, tilting his ear to the side and glancing back to Karkat as he spoke. "You're being unreasonable. Again." He snorted and stepped out into the open air of the space stretching across the canyon. "We're wasting time here. We must leave as soon as possible."

John watched their exchange, walking alongside Karkat as the smaller Fein followed after Equius' steps. He hesitated only a moment before jumping out over the edge of the canyon and taking to the sky once more, Karkat's hand still securely wrapped around John's wrist as they traversed the ravine. "Uh, who are you guys talking about exactly?" He asked hesitantly, shifting to take Karkat's hand in his own, linking their fingers. "I'd really rather not get eaten, despite what you may think."

"The Grand Highblood." Karkat said, relenting his anger and resuming his normal tone as he looked to John, his webbed fingers tightening gently against John's gloves. "He is the sire of Gamzee and Kurloz." He took a deep breath, then added, "Equius is here to lead us out of the jungle, to try to get us away from the traditional clades in the surrounding area who follow the teachings of the Highblood." He pivoted his ears towards John, adding, "The Makaras and Zahhaks will hunt you down, both you and Dave, and bring you to the Highblood." The Fein shuddered a bit as he spoke, his ears falling back at the thought. "He is the High Priest of High Society. His reach is powerful and long. In his religion, human blood is a direct link to Divine Majyyk. He will stop at nothing to get his hands on you two. We must guide you to sanctuary far from here, where even the Highblood cannot reach."

"Magic?" John balked, unsure if the translator was doing a good job with this particular word. "Magic like...casting spells, controlling elements, that sort of thing?"

"Divine Majyyk takes many forms, most of which I am unfamiliar with." Karkat pulled him down to the ground again as they reached the other side, opting to land atop the ship where Equius was already waiting. "I never invested much time in learning about the finer details when I was part of the clade. I do know it consists of unparalleled healing capabilities, amongst many other things." His red eyes focused on John's bright blue as he spoke, his tone soft and serious. "Whatever the Highblood _thinks_ he can do with your blood is all that really matters. He's just as insane as Gamzee was, and much more powerful. Some say he is immortal."

The beta made a gruff sound of agreement, tilting his ear towards Karkat. "He's ancient, that's true enough. Even as a Prima, he's lived lifetimes longer than others." Equius dropped the bags he had been carrying, John reaching over and taking one while Karkat grabbed the other. "My clan's Prima, Darkleer, has been around for generations as well. I have heard from elders in the clan that the Highblood and the Condesce are the oldest living Fein on the planet. They have both lived millenia longer than Darkleer."

"The Condesce?" John asked curiously, finding the name odd. All of the Fein titles were rather odd, actually. Unlike anything John had ever heard of before. Karkat turned away, already stepping forward down the corridor, leaving Equius behind without a word to the other Fein, John's eyes trailing after him.

He lingered even after Karkat's departure, looking up at the large, dark Fein, the bat glaring down at him before he quietly spoke in a rumbling tone, "Pray you never find out." He turned away from John, looking out across the ravine, falling silent. He didn't move from that position, opting to watch over their current location and keep a lookout for any sign of approaching danger, content to wait for the humans and Karkat to reemerge from the ship.

John laughed nervously and Equius' ominous words and sudden silence, padding quickly along after Karkat. When he caught up to him the Fein was already entering the bridge, the two boys walking together towards the Captain's deck and examining the holomap. The thermal map was still open, and the area surrounding the wreckage was dotted with heat signatures, more than John could count. Karkat growled softly, pinnae flicking back and forth before turning and focusing on the med bay doors, sensing Dave was somewhere beyond. "I thought it was broken? Did you repair it somehow?"

Knowing Karkat was referring to the shattered purification chamber, he shook his head, "No, but it's just operational enough to help." He shifted the duffel a bit higher against his shoulder, glancing over at Karkat and noticing for the first time the sticky sheen of blood along his neck and shoulder. It looked like he had been bitten. "Come on, let's get cleaned up." He padded towards the med-bay, Karkat quiet as he followed behind. The doors opened with a soft chime as Rose welcomed them back, the entire room flooded with medicated aerosol, the dense green mist escaping steadily from the broken cylinder, the bay doors sealing shut behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Equius and Karkat must lead the humans to safety, but with the traditional clans hot on their heels will they reach the grasslands in time? Leaving their ship behind will put the humans in constant danger. Without food, water, or oxygen supplies how will they continue to survive on this alien planet?
> 
> Thanks for reading! More to come!


	9. Respite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is explicit.

John's eyes were wide, trying to absorb and understand the information Dave and Karkat had just presented, his mind reeling. "That's...absolutely insane." He glanced from the alien sitting beside him to Dave, the blonde still trapped within the confines of the healing pod, the dark-headed human shaking his head in disbelief. "You fought him head-on...and with a _lightsaber_?"

"Photon katana, to be precise." Dave said, nodding as he watched the other human through the cracked glass of the purification chamber, gesturing to the large hologram that was playing before them in the center of the haze-filled room. The large display was fast-forwarding through a replay of the live-stream that had transpired between Dave and Gamzee, Karkat pressed close to John's side as the engineer continued recalling the details of the fight, clearly uncomfortable to be reliving the experience again. He was sweating, his dark fur matted together in several places, and his breathing seemed uneven as he rested heavily against the human's side. John frowned a bit, watching him for a long moment, before Dave's voice caught his attention and John glanced over to meet his eyes. "I wasn't planning on it, any of it...but it happened." His tone was low and deep. "I've never...killed anyone before. It's surreal." He shrugged a bit, carding his fingers through his hair and sighing softly. "I don't think the reality of it has hit me quite yet. I'm pretty exhausted."

John nodded slowly in agreement, gradually returning his attention to the hologram. He wasn't sure reality had caught up with him yet either, his system still shellshocked from the trauma that had transpired over the past few hours. He glanced down at Karkat again, checking on the bat's condition. The small Fein was pressed against him tightly and curled in on himself as much as he could be, his ears tilted backwards in a submissive state, twitching slightly. He hadn't been acting normally since returning to the ship, once they'd passed out of Equius' sight. He'd stumbled a bit as they'd made their way through the bridge cabin before reaching the med-bay, and even more so when the two boys took a sitting position on the other side of the glass opposite Dave, Karkat nearly falling and cutting himself. John glanced up towards the top of the canister, impatiently waiting for the final treatment segment to run its course, hoping it would heal all three of them at least somewhat successfully. They had things they needed to do.

The boys were passing the time by sharing information about everything that had happened thus far, Dave gesturing to the hologram while summarizing the last details of his encounter with Gamzee before fleeing the sinking ship. Karkat had answered clarifying questions now and then while Dave did the majority of the exposition about the encounter, but he was strangely quiet for the most part. His temperature was higher than normal, enough that John might classify the irregularity as the alien equivalent of a fever. He hadn't explained everything, but John understood he'd been bitten by the Alpha before Gamzee and Dave had fought, and the toxins in his venom had rendered Karkat immobile. Dave had carried him to safety. Karkat hissed softly as he tensed beneath the stream of the hologram overhead, his eyes lowering from the holographic display as Dave dealt the final blow in high definition once again. John frowned, shuddering as well at the raw images, reaching over to press his gloved hand against the back of Karkat's.

"I'm just glad you're both alright." He finally said, his voice soft, squeezing Karkat's hand lightly. They'd managed to flee from the sinking ship, escape the crazed Alpha, and made it back to the bridge alive. That was an outstanding amount of luck between the three of them. John still felt anxious at the thought of what was to come, of the Fein they would soon be running from. Nervous energy prickled along his sweaty skin. "I can't believe we survived all that…but I'm very, very glad we all made it. When I thought I might lose you guys, I couldn't handle it..."

Dave hummed his agreement softly in response, but Karkat didn't answer, hiding his face against John's shoulder, breathing quietly against his bodysuit. John dipped down a bit, trying to catch the Fein's bright red eyes and offer Karkat a small comforting smile, but the Fein seemed completely overwhelmed, and just as exhausted as the humans. He met John's eyes for the briefest of moments before looking away again, hiding his face and closing his eyes slowly, resting while he could. He was shivering lightly, soft vibrations that John could feel minutely through the padding of his bodysuit. "Are you sure we have to leave right away?" John asked softly, concerned for Karkat, wrapping his arm around the bat gently. "None of us have had a chance to rest yet, and there's a long way to go before we reach the edge of the Viridian Sea from everything you've said…"

"We can't wait. We have to go, as soon as Dave can leave." The bat's voice was soft, muffled against his suit as he pressed a clawed hand to John's chest, allowing the human to pull him closer, his temperature still rising as his fever began to spike. His shoulders hunched a bit and he tensed, hissing softly in pain when John rubbed gently up and down his back, drawing John's attention once more to the large, weeping bite mark indented into his shoulder and neck. The bite mark that Gamzee had left behind. That bite had poisoned Karkat, forcing him into full submission, the omega completely at the mercy of the Alpha's will, unable to fight back against Gamzee as he tried to…

John shuddered at the thought, forever grateful that Dave had been there to protect Karkat whilst he had been out cold. John frowned deeply, glaring down at the bite mark, willing it to disappear. Despite the diluted healing agent filling the bay chambers, it looked like the bite wasn't going to start healing any time soon. These alien creatures were powerful, dangerous and deadly. He wanted to be able to protect Karkat. He never wanted to see him hurt again. He felt helpless, useless compared to Dave with his martial arts training and his glowy ninja sword. He wasn't sure what he could do, but he wanted to do something. More than anything. He'd never felt the desire to protect someone so strongly before.

"Karkat…" John tried softly, but the Fein was unresponsive, silence heavy between them as the seconds ticked by. Dave eventually cleared his throat and caught his attention, the other boy gesturing casually towards the duffel lying nearby once John looked over at him, nodding towards it pointedly.

"Might not be much, but I grabbed what I could from the med bay before she went under." He pointed to his neck, his eyes shifting to settle on Karkat's curled frame. "Maybe there's something in there that can help…?"

John nodded subtly, looking down at Karkat and shifting his arm from around him slowly, the bat blinking up at him as he got to his feet, a soft sad chirp escaping him, his whole body shivering. "It's alright, stay right there, okay? I'm just checking what we have to work with. I'll be right back." He held Karkat's gaze for a lingering moment before trotting over to the duffel and lifting it to the closest countertop, unzipping the large bag and removing his gloves before rummaging around inside. He pulled out a few items to examine their intended purposes before shoving them back inside, digging his way down through the medical equipment and finally finding a salve amongst the jumbled contents. He flipped the jar around, reading the contents and nodding a bit before stepping back over to the cylinder, returning to his spot beside Karkat. The Fein pressed close to him again as soon as he sat down, John wrapping an arm around him gingerly once more, rubbing his back slowly while showing him the jar he was holding in his other hand. "Looks like this is used for wound care to assist with healing, but I don't know if it will do much good given the differences in our species' chemistry…" He tapped his scanner, calling out to Rose. "Are there any records of medical treatments being administered to the Fein in Doctor Harley's research?" He wanted to be certain before he administered the salve, he would hate himself if he did something to cause Karkat to suffer further.

Rose chimed overhead, her voice resonating through the dense, misty chamber. _Affirmative, Captain. Doctor Jade Harley's research delves into such interactions with indigenous species within her private logs._ The hologram display switched from live stream archives to personnel files, the research professor's headshot and biography appearing across the screen in bright green boxes of bold text. Rose highlighted several stardates with encrypted seals, three years at the tail end of her archives, the private research records John had not had access to prior to reaching the bridge. _Request to access all encrypted files within Doctor Harley's personal archives? Please confirm your request, Captain._

John was already reaching up with one hand to sort through the information gathering in his personal sights. Judging from the sporadic clicking behind him, Dave was doing some digging through Dirk's personal archive as well. "Show me everything you have, Rose. Be thorough."

 _Affirmative Captain, Decryption Request processing. Evaluating databanks for following Stardates: 0309-469-308 to 0309-469-311. Downloading and presenting all available data within selected time range._ The holoscreen moved as she spoke, bringing up video and text documents, highlighting all the relevant data Doctor Harley had accumulated for those last three years. There were hundreds of pictures, sorted out into categories and arranged in alphabetical order. Alongside the pictures were dozens of thick research text files that looked like they could easily be converted into official textbooks, John thumbing through the files quickly while he searched for what he was looking for. She had archived everything in fascinating detail, several original hand-sketched images collecting at the bottom of the large hovering holoscreen, his sights displaying anatomy and handwritten notes about everything from ears and eyes to various mutations. Fein of every color, every shape and size. This was her life's work. They were the first to see it, after her. It tugged at something inside his chest, John trying not to get choked up, blinking back unshed tears as he finally found what he was looking for. As he tapped on the dense folder to open it and review the contents within, Rose chimed from the intercom once more. _Highlighting research specific to direct request: Medical Treatment. Notes include theoretical interspecies conversions of medicines and regulatory treatments, converting Human biology into known examples of Fein biology. Many theories remain untested, as the Doctor's research was rendered incomplete when the local Fein discontinued their association with Doctor Harley and her research assistants after several Fein suffered injuries. Data is inconclusive._

"Damn, she never had time to finish." John swore softly under his breath, resting his head back against the glass with a soft thud. He had been hoping for a definitive answer. Dave glanced back at him, still typing, and John clarified. "The 'chief of the local tribe' banned them from interacting before she could prove most of her theories…there's no concrete evidence of anything." The Prima of the clade that lived within the jungle when the starship had first crash landed had rendered her research inconclusive and therefore inconsequential. Her notes were practically useless to the current situation that had presented itself before them unexpectedly.

Dave whistled, soft and low, a concerned look creasing his brow and he looked to Karkat for a moment then back to the data within his personal sights, beginning to type again. "No dice, huh? Me neither. Guess that means she's leaving the final decision up to you." He grinned a little, trying to lighten the mood. "Just think: 'What would Doctor Jade Harley do?'!"

John grimaced at the other boy's choice of humour, sighing softly. He traced his fingertips against the raised label across the front of the jar, his eyes flitting between the jar in his hands and the bite on Karkat's shoulder, debating. He had to at least try, right? Shifting a bit, he reached up and gently tilted Karkat's head back where it rested against his chest to his shoulder, the rouge bat warbling softly and wincing but allowing John to move him as he liked. "There now, you're alright… I'm going to give you some of this medicine." He was nervous, his pulse quickening, trying to hide the anxiety wavering in his voice. "Tell me right away if it starts to hurt, okay? I don't know if this is going to be good for you or just make it worse… I do _not_ want to hurt you, Karkat. I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay..." Karkat replied softly, his eyes parted just enough to look up at John, his ears tilting towards the sound of his voice. "Even if...it doesn't work. It will eventually heal on its own. The dose of venom was high, my body is rejecting it. It won't last long once this fever breaks. I'll be fine..." He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling softly before opening them again, unable to hide the soft whine that seemed caught in his throat.

John watched the bat, searching his expression, wondering what Karkat wasn't saying, wondering why despite those words he still looked so upset. "I'm sorry you're in so much pain." John said softly, "I want to at least try to help you… Is that okay?" Karkat tilted his ears towards him slightly, nodding his consent but still looking uneasy. John rubbed his back gently as he paused and thought ahead, considering the journey they would soon embark upon, weighing his options. Should he leave his wound to heal on its own and risk environmental exposure and potential infection, or should he try the salve and see if it helped, not knowing if it would cause greater harm than good? He hesitated a few moments longer, asking softly, "Will you be able to run while you're injured like this? Will you be able to fly?" He reached up and gently traced his fingertips along the alien's upturned nose and arching brow, carding his long fingers through the dark, rouge-tinted fur. His mane was longer here atop his skull between his large pinnae, John petting through his dark locks gently before rubbing gingerly at the base of one of his ears, listening to the soft clicking sounds of enjoyment Karkat made as the bat relaxed against him further.

Dave's typing slowly grinded to a halt, the blonde trilling quietly and dismissing his sights with an annoyed wave, appearing also unsuccessful in determining the correct choice of action despite double-checking the decrypted data. "I know you're unsure, Karkat. We are too...but John's right. If we're gonna to need to move soon you can't be out there like this…" He turned to face the boys behind him, knocking on the glass lightly with his knuckles until those exhausted red eyes looked up into his own, his bright irises shadowed behind his holovisor. "You wanna give it a try? See if it helps?"

The Fein swallowed, his ears pivoting up a bit and twisting before flattening back against his skull, inhaling softly and waiting a few long moments before exhaling slowly again. "Alright. Might as well try."

That soft, defeated acceptance was enough to cause both John and Dave to frown in concern, the humans exchanging a glance and Dave nodding once, encouraging John to act. Biting his bottom lip to keep himself steady, John lifted the jar past Karkat's shoulder so he could open it with both hands, letting the jar cap fall with a soft clink to the floor. It rolled in a semicircle away from them before colliding with a pile of broken glass, the lid coming to a spiraling halt, resting flat against the tile beside the pile. He dipped two fingertips into the glossy white salve and with his other hand he reached down to set the jar on the floor beside them. Returning both hands to Karkat's shoulder, his fingertips slowly parted the dark fur around the closest open wound, Karkat tucking his face against John's neck with a soft chirp, shaking. He went still against John's throat, baring his neck and waiting for what would happen next, warbling softly as John's other hand began applying the tonic. His movements were slow and gentle, careful with his fingertips as he pressed the ointment to the first wound, coating it lightly at first, waiting to see how it would react to Karkat's body. It didn't seem to be harming him, but he wasn't exactly sure if it was helping either. John whispered soft reassurances as he worked, parting his fur at each point of impact and applying more of the salve when Karkat didn't protest, slowly following the ring of sharp indents left behind by the Alpha, the smaller punctures half-hidden beneath his rouge fur.

"You're alright, Karkat. Just breathe. I've got you." He glanced over at Dave who was watching closely, tapping at his sights and assessing the treatment John was administering, drawling as he spoke up happily.

"Looks to me like it's workin'. Muscle and tissue already meshin' back together, and his skin is stitchin' as well…" He looked past his sights to focus on John's fingers, adding after a moment, "Do a thicker layer where the canines pierced, nasty ol' bastard had hollow fangs like a damn snake. If the venom is makin' him sick like this, maybe the active ingredients in the medicine can counteract the effects of the poison."

John followed his instructions, still careful as he pressed his fingertips to each wound, smearing the salve in generous dollops against the rows of sharp teeth marks one more time before withdrawing, the wound glossy with tonic. Set the jar aside once more when he was sure he'd done a thorough enough coating, leaning back and pulling Karkat against his chest as he reclined against the glass, rubbing up and down his back soothingly, the Fein breathing soft and even against his neck. He could feel his skin was damp where Karkat was pressed against him, sweating out his fever and resting unmoving against John's chest, the human watching the rise and fall of his back and reassuring himself Karkat would be alright.

They stayed like that for nearly an hour before the sliding door opened and allowed Dave to exit the purification chamber. Once he was free, the engineer padded over to them, crouching down and rubbing a hand along Karkat's back as well, examining the thick salve layered across his neck and shoulder in a wide oval, nodding his approval. "You did a good job, kid. Here, let me." He moved down to take Karkat from his chest, the Fein chirping in distress for a brief moment as he was rolled over before Dave gathered him in his arms and carried him bridal-style towards the waiting room, glass crunching under his boots as he went. John sighed heavily, groaning as he sat up and stretched his arms above his head, collecting the discarded cap and sealing the salve jar, padding over to the duffel and setting it on the countertop beside the large bag. Glancing past the room divider, he could see Dave was making a comfortable spot on one of the small couches where Karkat could lay down and rest. He knelt down and whispered to the Fein for a few moments before the small bat chirped softly and closed his eyes again, relaxing atop the cushions. Dave hovered there, watching and waiting, then when he was sure Karkat was alright he left his side and returned to John, rubbing at the back of his head. "I know he wants to leave soon, but there's no way we're goin' anywhere 'til he's not so sick. Might as well let him sleep."

John nodded his agreement, beginning to shrug out of his bodysuit, peeling off layers of protective gear before stepping naked towards the nearby shower. "We should sleep too, I can barely keep my eyes open. I think I've only slept a few hours each night since I woke up in the life-canister."

Dave watched him silently for a few long moments as he started up the shower and stepped beneath the stream of warm water, then decided to strip the rest of the way out of his shredded bodysuit and shower as well. He tossed his layers aside, rolling his shoulders and flexing, wincing a bit at the sore ache resonating throughout his entire body. He may be healed for the most part after half a dozen rounds inside the broken healing-pod, but the diluted treatment was definitely noticeable. It still felt like he was bruised just beneath the surface, that dull aching sensation throbbing just under the skin anywhere he touched. He grabbed the jar of salve John had set aside, making his way into the shower, John looking over at him when the tall blonde reached out and touched at his bare shoulder.

"Dave?" He asked softly, the blonde humming as he unscrewed the cap and dipped his fingers into the ointment. He set it aside out of the way, resting the jar on the upper lip of the shower wall before reaching out again, his large palm meeting John's skin. His touch was warm, Dave slowly spreading the salve across John's shoulders and down his trapezius, kneading gently to work the tonic into his tight muscles. John tensed for a moment before he realized what was happening, closing his eyes and pressing back against Dave's hands. It ached when the other boy massaged him, yes, but it also felt _so_ good. He steadied himself against the shower wall, letting out a soft moan and relaxing beneath Dave's hands as the older boy worked on his sore muscles, his body similarly aching despite the secondhand treatments. The medicinal salve was thick enough to resist the water, clinging to his skin and tingling as Dave spread it across his back. His hands moved freely, travelling up his neck to the base of his skull then down the curve of his lower back to the rise of his glutes, John's heart fluttering lightly at the intimacy of his wandering touch.

They stood together under the warm water, Dave rubbing at the knots he found across John's neck and shoulders, gradually moving down his spine, working loose all the tension he was unconsciously holding. John breathed through it despite the pain that flared under those deft hands when Dave found hidden bruises here and there, practically dizzy from the sensation of it. When Dave stepped closer and pressed his chest against John's back the dark-headed boy let out a soft gasp, blushing and glancing back at him. The blonde watched him with unwavering crimson eyes, reaching around to wrap his arms around the younger's waist, kneading at either side of his obliques in deep, slow presses, digging into the muscle as he ascended. _Fuck_ he was strong, John shivering lightly against Dave's chest, trying not to feel so flustered. The power Dave held in his hands was unmistakable, yet he was doing everything he could to soothe John, his touches calculated and gentle despite the depth of his massage. Catching John's eyes, the blonde gave him a soft smile, leaning in to press his nose to John's dark hair, breathing against his ear. "This okay?" He asked softly, John nodding quickly as he turned his gaze back to the shower wall and tried to control his shaky breathing. Surely he was reading too much into this. Surely Dave wasn't intent on anything _close_ to the sudden fantasies running through his dizzy head. He hadn't been touched like this in longer than he could remember, and he was going to embarrass himself if he didn't stop this somehow. He tried to come up with some excuse to pull away from Dave's hands but he felt weak, and the older boy did not seem interested in stopping. If anything, he began touching John more.

The blonde shifted his hands, bringing one up John's taut stomach and following the curve of his abs up to his chest, John's breath catching in his throat as Dave's fingertips ghosted across one of his nipples. It sent a shiver up his spine, John curling his toes against the warm, wet tile and arching back against Dave slightly with a barely audible moan, the blonde pressing closer to steady him. Their slick bodies pressed closely together, the hand on John's chest rubbing back and forth gently, the other still kneading along his waist almost teasingly. Finding his breath, forcing himself to speak, John squeezed his blue eyes closed tightly, trying to think clearly through his flustered head-rush. "Dave, I-I…"

"Can I touch you?" He asked softly, breath teasing John's ear as he spoke. John let out an awkward soft squeak, lifting a hand to press back against his mouth, flustered beyond belief. His other hand pressed against the shower wall desperately, bracing his suddenly weak knees. There was no way this was happening. No way.

"I'm sorry…?" John croaked as soon as he was able to form coherent thought, glancing back over his shoulder to meet Dave's eyes again. The blonde chuckled softly, the hand on John's chest moving up to capture his jaw and tilt his face back, the older boy leaning over his shoulder to connect their lips. John froze at the unexpected chill that rushed up his spine, heat blossoming across his face and chest, heart fluttering wildly. Dave smiled against his lips, breathing softly against his mouth, and he kissed him again, slowly. John's eyes were wide, his breath caught as he tried to remember how to breathe, hesitantly responding to that gentle press of lips, parting his own and moaning softly as he felt Dave's hot mouth greet his tongue. Holy shit, this was happening. Holy shit, this was _incredible_.

He whined softly, Dave pulling back a moment later, John searching his eyes in disbelief and panting lightly beneath the cascading water. "Can I touch you, John?" He repeated softly, searching those dilated blue eyes with an impish grin, and when the younger boy squeaked out a nervous affirmative and nodded his head enthusiastically, Dave dipped in again and captured his mouth in another searing kiss. His hands wandered across John's body, feeling his musculature, worshiping each groove, each divot, breathing softly against John's lips as they parted for breath. Having John's consent, Dave began kissing down his nape, his hands rubbing along the other boy's chest and abs appreciatively as he lavished him with soft kisses and little flicks of his tongue, John moaning softly as Dave kissed down his spine and knelt before him, tugging at John's hip until he turned around and pressed his back against the shower wall, pale skin flushed pink from the hot water and the embarrassment washing over him in staggering waves. "You're sure this is okay?" He asked again, looking up from John's waist as he pressed his hands to John's thighs, kneading at the muscle hidden there, his face level with John's arousal. He was painfully erect just from kissing and light touching, a bead of precum dripping down his foreskin from the tip of his twitching cock. He reached down, carding his fingers through Dave's hair gently, flustered and aroused beyond belief, nodding his consent once more.

John's voice was reverent as he whispered, "Please Dave, please…" He bit his bottom lip, watching him eagerly, legs trembling a bit as Dave moved one hand from his thigh to wrap around the base of his cock, stroking lightly. He kept his pace light and steady, his bright red eyes trained on John's face, smirking with satisfaction as his cock began steadily leaking more precum, the thick liquid dripping from the swollen head of his glans peeking out from behind his taut foreskin. Panting softly, John pressed the back of his hand to his mouth as he tilted his head back, muffling his whines as he felt that hot tongue lapping up his precum, teasing his foreskin and flicking his tongue against the tip of his glans before taking John fully into his mouth. He choked on a soft sob and used all of his willpower to keep from bucking his hips, Dave's firm grip on his thigh keeping him pinned back against the shower lightly as he took him into his throat, humming and bobbing slowly. John nerves were on fire, already so close to the edge just from this. "Fuck, _fuck_ …" He tugged at Dave's hair gently, pulling his hand from his mouth long enough to take a few shaky breaths and look down at the boy devouring him so deliciously, whining and biting his bottom lip, trembling as Dave took him to the hilt, sucking hard. " _Ah!!_ " He slapped his hand against his mouth as he started to cum, Dave moaning and drinking him down as the dark-headed boy arched against the shower with a sharp jerk of his hips, moaning loudly against his hand as he rode out the waves of his climax. His body convulsed slightly, John crumpling in on himself and shivering from overstimulation when Dave continued sucking his pulsing cock. He tightened his grip on Dave's hair, hissing softly and trying to pull his mouth away, but the blonde made a soft noise and reached up to take John's hand from his hair gently. He made a show of it, pulling back with an audible pop, licking his lips as he grinned up at him, quickly rising to his feet to give him a kiss.

"You like that?" He teased softly, John letting out a muffled laugh and wrapping his arms around Dave's neck, pulling him down for another kiss. They moved against one another slowly, taking their time as they explored one another, John very aware of the hard cock pressed to the curve of his stomach, his hands moving to touch Dave as well.

He pet across his broad chest, making soft sounds against the older boy's mouth as Dave kissed him deeper, their tongues fighting gently for dominance. He wasn't sure what this was, where it would lead, but for now it was good, it was _perfect_. John wanted more, wanted everything Dave was willing to give. "I want you…" he said softly, panting against the other boy's lips. Dave grinned at his whispered admission, nodding twice in succession before dipping down and reconnecting their lips hungrily, pulling John's hips from the shower wall and grinding greedily against him.

"Yeah? You want that?" he practically purred, squeezing John's cheeks and rutting his hard cock against his warm skin, John trying to keep his voice down as Dave kissed down his neck, biting at his pulse lightly, one of his hands shifting to slip his fingers between his round cheeks. "You sure you can keep quiet? Karkat…"

"I'm sure, I'm sure... _please_..." John begged softly, arching against the tall blonde and kissing him desperately, feeling Dave fumble for the salve atop the wall before returning to his body moments later. He moaned at the feeling of Dave smearing that thick, glossy tonic between his pert cheeks, John squealing softly against his mouth as Dave pressed the tip of his forefinger against the tight ring of muscle there, rubbing slowly. John was fully hard again, already aching to cum, pressing back against Dave's finger until the digit slipped inside. He stretched John slowly, pressing one finger inside, then the next, scissoring and stretching his tight muscles thoroughly, the tonic tingling against John's warm skin. They kissed over and over, Dave stealing John's breath, until finally he pulled back and looked down at the younger, pressing his fingers in deeper and thrusting them slowly in and out.

"Damn, you're _tight_ , John." He whispered softly, kissing across his flushed face and down his neck again, moaning softly against his throat. "I'm afraid I'm gonna hurt ya. Are you _sure_ -"

John pushed him away gently, Dave looking up to meet his eyes, stilling his movements. John stared at him for a moment before cupping his face with both hands, using the most serious expression he could muster before he leaned in and spoke, trying to be clear. "Stop _asking_ , Dave. I _want_ this." He tugged the blonde down to kiss him roughly, John panting against his lips as Dave started moving his fingers inside him again, thrusting deeper. He was a mess, whining and moaning hotly as Dave pressed him back against the wall, his movements much rougher than before. He added a third finger, John gasping and rocking back against the strain of it, feeling his body trying to tense against that pressure. He kept kissing Dave, willing himself to relax. He wanted the other boy inside of him. He needed it, desperately.

Their movements were hurried now, from eager excitement and flustered adrenaline combined, John turning around to press his hands against the wall as Dave handled him roughly. The taller boy tugged John's hips up into a bowed arch, reaching down to part his thighs just enough to slip between them, his hard cock seeking out John's tight heat, rubbing against the cleft and then pressing in gently. John practically mewled, heart pounding, his cock dripping precum as he looked back over his shoulder, the older boy smirking as he teased with just the tip of his cock. "Please…" John whispered softly, grinding back against him. He didn't want Dave to waste any more time, he wanted that cock buried inside him all the way to the hilt. Dave reached forward, wrapping an arm around John's chest to brace against him, his other hand gripping his hip hard as he pressed his cock inside, both boys groaning softly at the sensation, tears gathering in John's lashes quickly as he squeezed his eyes shut and fought back a pained sob. Dave was much, _much_ bigger than he'd expected. He should have let him stretch him with a fourth. Dave stilled as he brought his hips flush against John's ass, feeling the way the younger boy had tensed, kissing along his shoulders and nape and groaning deeply against his ear.

"You feel so fuckin' good, sweetheart…" He moved the hand against John's hip forward to wrap around his weeping cock, stroking him slowly as he rocked against him, willing him to relax again. "Easy, darlin', breathe for me. I know you can take it..."

"Dave…" John moaned, arching back against him as he stroked his cock, palms straining against the shower wall as he whined and bit his lip. He rocked slowly against Dave's hand, feeling his muscles uncoil as pleasure overwhelmed pain, and slowly Dave started moving with him, finding a matching rhythm, building a quick pace between them and filling the shower chamber with smart, wet slaps.

Grunting with effort, Dave shifted his grip back to John's hip and dug in deep to keep leverage as he fucked into the other boy. John's face was pressed to the shower wall over one of his hands, moaning loudly against the back of it while the other palm braced heavily against the wall. Dave kept his arm wrapped around John's chest, hips slapping against John's ass louder and louder as he increased his pace, holding him tightly and breathing fast against his skin. John could feel him tensing, getting closer, a delighted thrill searing up his spine as he realized Dave was cumming inside him, moaning loudly as the blonde snapped his hips against him to bury himself fully inside, groaning loudly through his orgasm. He came in hot spurts, John whining and clenching around him, feeling his cock twitching and throbbing for release. He was almost there, so close he could taste it, sliding his hand down from the wall and panting softly as he wrapped his long fingers around his cock and began stroking himself. Hot satisfied tears were slowly dripping down his cheeks, his every nerve on fire. Dave reached around and took his wrist, pulling his hand away from his cock and replacing it with his own, stroking him slowly as he kissed his shoulders and thrust into him slow and deep. His hand continued rubbing along John's toned chest and defined abs, kneading at his side for the briefest of moments before taking his other hip and gripping tightly, beginning to fuck into him again while still stroking his cock.

"You gonna cum again for me, darlin'?" Dave drawled against John's ear, the dark-headed boy curling his toes as he arched away from the shower wall, unable to muffle his voice as Dave fucked into him roughly. His eyes were wide as he stared up at the blur of water raining down upon them and with a sharp cry he came violently, cum spurting across his chest and abs in rolling waves as white light filled the corners of his vision with sparks. Dave chuckled with heady satisfaction, continuing to fuck into him and stroke him through his orgasm as John practically screamed his name, Dave reaching up and slapping a hand over his mouth to try and quiet him. He glanced over at Karkat, chuckling softly at seeing the bat was still asleep, returning his attention to John as the boy continued moaning wantonly against his hand.

Slowly Dave lessened his pace, John moaning softly as their movements gradually stilled and he slumped forward against the shower, chest heaving as he rocked back against Dave's thick cock. The blonde thrust into him slowly a few more times before pulling out, cock still half-hard as he reached down and slapped one of John's cheeks soundly, John yelping at the sudden smack. Pouting a bit as he turned around, Dave pulled him closer with a low chuckle, wrapping his arms around John's waist. The blue-eyed boy linked his arms around his neck in turn, pressing closer for a soft kiss, completely sated. His knees were weak, and he felt as if he might pass out at any moment, Dave keeping him close and rubbing along his lower back and the rise of his glutes as they shared soft breaths between kisses. Eventually Dave pulled back enough that he could cup John's face, the younger boy blinking up at him and blushing a bit as he grinned, laughing and searching the other's eyes.

"What's that look for?" he asked softly, one of his hands slipping down Dave's shoulder to rest against his chest.

"Nothin', just lookin' at ya." He grinned, kissing John's forehead before resting his cheek there, sighing contentedly. "You're pretty damn cute, y'know."

"Oh am I? Really?" John teased, pushing away from the other boy and turning around to rinse himself beneath the warm water, grabbing the half-bar of soap Karkat had used before and washing away the salve and traces of cum they'd left behind on one another's skin, sighing happily as the shower rinsed away all the bubbles. "Well if you're going to start pillow talk we should really be in bed." He glanced over his shoulder cheekily before handing Dave the soap and stepping out from beneath the shower, wringing water from his dark hair and pale skin. He turned and started padding barefoot towards the waiting room once he wasn't completely dripping, calling over his shoulder, "Hurry up and rinse, I'll take Karkat to the bunk room. We should get a few hours of sleep while we still can." He grabbed a breathing mask from the duffel as he went, sliding it over his face and scooping up Karkat, disappearing out of sight a moment later, leaving Dave to wash up in silence.

"That kid is somethin' else…" He sighed softly, shaking his head and ducking under the water to wash away whatever substances might still be clinging to his skin, a soft, affectionate grin across his face.

John carried Karkat to one of the untouched beds, tugging back the thin blanket and sheets and laying the bat down gently before crawling in bed beside him. He tugged off his mask and sat it atop the nightstand next to their cot, wrapping his arms around Karkat as the Fein twittered and nuzzled into his chest, breathing softly against his chilled skin. He was still wet from the shower, the sheets absorbing moisture from his skin and hair, Karkat cuddling closer against his chest as he blinked up at him slowly, dark fur still covered in sweat. "It's alright Karkat, just rest now…" He said softly, petting along one of the Fein's tall ears, rubbing gently. Karkat let out a soft croon and closed his eyes once more, tucking his face against John's neck and inhaling deeply, quickly falling back asleep. It didn't take long for Dave to join them, the blonde stepping through the airlock doors and sliding his breathing mask off as he approached, glancing around the lockers nearby for clothes. "Good luck, I didn't find much last time I was here." John said softly, Dave sighing and deciding he'd rather sleep than hunt down something to wear. He set about pushing one of the nearby beds against John's and crawling into the sheets behind him, pressing his wet chest against the smaller boy's bare back. Grinning and laughing quietly as he felt one of Dave's arms wrap around his waist, John rolled back a bit to meet eyes with him, the blonde watching him for a moment before leaning in and kissing him again.

They stayed like that for several long moments, kissing softly, John trying to muffle his soft sounds the best he could with Karkat pressed to his chest and neck, blushing as he felt Dave was half-hard and grinding gently against his ass with the barest of movements. He pulled away, searching Dave's eyes, the blonde kissing his cheek and pressing close to spoon him, one hand propped up beneath his pillow while the other stroked gentle patterns across the curve of John's hip. They lay together in the quiet, neither one of them speaking, just listening to the other draw breath. Several moments passed in the calm quiet before Dave spoke, his lips pressed to John's shoulder as he leaned over him slightly.

"Sleep, sweetheart. I know you want to." Dave said quietly with a soft yawn, tucking his face against John's damp hair and exhaling slowly. "Gotta sleep while we can, might be the last time we're blessed with these 200-thread count deluxe cotton sheets. You'd think a federation starship could at least afford sheets that weren't _scratchy_ -"

"Shut up, Dave." John laughed softly, shaking his head, petting along Karkat's ears and face gently, listening to the bat breathe, focusing on the sensation of his soft fur and Dave's warm skin, closing his eyes. "I never want to forget this." He whispered, the blonde at his back kissing his nape and going quiet again. It wasn't long before both of the humans fell asleep, Karkat's fever slowly dropping as the salve did its work, the Fein's temperature regulating back to its normal range. The bat instinctively shifted against John's chest, pressing closer to his warmth and crooning softly, Dave's fingertips brushing against his soft fur lightly where his arm was draped across John's waist.

-x-x-x-

Kurloz eyed the body before him, struggling to understand. Gamzee appeared to have been sliced open by some unholy talon set alight with divine fire, the Alpha's corpse charred and broken from root to stem. His eyes were still open, glazed with white where once they had been deep indigo. He'd seen corpses before, but nothing like this. His throat was cut through, his broodmate nearly decapitated. He wanted to know what had done this. He needed to see it with his own eyes. What alien powers did these humans possess? It was unlike anything he had ever heard of before when he had listened to tales of old from The Grand Highblood himself. He had grown up to those ancient stories. Now, suddenly, there was a new threat amongst them. His sire must know, immediately.

Turning towards the guards nearby, he gestured his dismissal and stepped away, leaving the corpse behind for his clutchmates to tend to. They would take it back to the den and begin building a fire in the center of the inner sanctum, making preparations for the ritual that would soon begin. Kurloz trained his eyes to the east, large pinnae focusing on the unnatural light reflecting against the tall trees, foreign beneath the pure light of the dual white suns. There was power in the fragmented section of the ship lying beyond the ravine which divided the ruins, and he sensed life there, both Fein and human. He stared towards the ravine for a moment longer before turning away and heading north towards his clade, thinking of his duties as Prima. He would notify his sire of what had transpired and carry out the burial ritual first before pursuing them, if his father commanded it. He never knew exactly what The Grand Highblood was thinking, and made no assumptions as to what would happen once he was told that the humans had claimed the life of his youngest heir with some unknown weapon of power.

The Fein of the clutch gathered around him bowed respectfully as he passed, dipping back their ears and moving out of his path as he entered the tree-line, continuing through the trees beyond. The ship, now completely shrouded in darkness, left the cliffside strangely bare. He could still feel the planet humming as the giant vessel sunk slowly down and down into the void that would gradually become The Tainted Sea, the cliffs collapsing down along with it and descending towards the great expanse of toxic water. He would need to find a way to purify the sea eventually, before its toxins overwhelmed the jungle, but for now he had more immediate concerns. When he had ventured to the ship to recover Gamzee, he had caught not only Gamzee's scent, but several other scents as well. Firstly there had been Karkat's scent, with two humans' scents accompanying the omega, the sweetness of their fresh blood still littered across the surrounding debris along the edge of the cliffs. There had also been Equius' scent, mingling with the humans and Karkat, though Kurloz was not all that surprised. The youngest Zahhak heir had always held unrequited pale affections for Karkat. He sought him out regularly, despite the rouge being outcast. The last scent, though it had lingered briefly, was the most concerning. Unmistakably he had picked up his mate's scent amongst the rest. He knew Kankri had interacted with Karkat.

Kankri rarely went against his word, but now that he had amidst such a dangerous situation Kurloz was fighting everything within him to remain calm and composed. He could feel the tight, cold sensation of his Dark Majyyk winding through his bloodstream, fighting to rise against his skin and shroud the area surrounding him in darkness. His presence was unearthly and ominous as he walked between the trees, shadows beginning to twist in the air surrounding him to follow his footsteps. He appeared a great eldritch as he stalked through the towering trunks, brooding his existence as the only remaining Makara heir. The ancient voodoos of his clade were renown and infamous, passed down through blood lineage directly from his sire. He would delight in allowing his majyyks free, his voodoos as much a part of him as he himself was, but he resisted for Kankri's sake, pushing back down that wild darkness. His mate was carrying his pups, he could not risk injuring him or his heir, and so he diminished whatever anger he may have otherwise unleashed upon the omega as he returned to the den, his Dark Majyyk lulling deep inside him.

The Alpha stood at the entryway of the den, casting his indigo eyes around the interior of the cave sharply, inhaling audibly against the air. Kankri was there, but something wasn't quite right. His scent was distressed, a sour tang to his usually sweet and floral tones. He could tell the Bella had been crying. Kurloz turned and walked towards the nest, sensing it was still warm, pivoting his ears to and fro for a moment before picking up the soft muffled sounds from the shadowed corner opposite of the plush bedding, the Alpha chittering softly as he approached. "Dearest, why do you weep?" He asked, hovering over the distressed omega and crouching down to his knees, pulling the smaller Fein into his arms, crooning soothingly. He moved his claws to rest beneath Kankri's chin, tilting his face up slowly, the omega's face flushed and his rouge fur tear-streaked, the Alpha leaning closer to lap against his cheeks, nosing gently against his damp fur.

"I-I am sorry, Prima. I am sorry…" He sobbed quietly, leaning into his Alpha's touch. "My heart, it aches. I mourn your loss, and also mine." Kurloz pet across his cheeks gently, watching his mate with concern as he hiccupped and sobbed, reaching up to touch Kurloz's wrist and cling to his hand tightly. "We have both lost our broodmates, the last of our sire's clutch. It aches for me to think we shall _never_ see them again." He pressed a hand to his chest, sobbing openly and shaking his head, his ears tucked back against his skull. "As Gamzee was precious to your heart, so Karkat was to mine...and now they are gone..."

Kurloz exhaled long and deep, picking up the omega from the floor and returning to the nest. The larger Fein pulled him close once he'd settled, his larger body curling around the omega's, sheltering him in his warmth and his thick, dominant scent. Kurloz reclined back into the nest and gathered Kankri higher against his chest gently, tilting Kankri's neck to the side and crooning softly to quiet him, lapping with broad strokes at his neck directly over their bondmark. "Dearest, you must dry your tears. Though Karkat was once of your sire's brood, he is tied to you no longer. He is banished, he is outcast. He is already dead in the eyes of the clutch. He has been since his banishment."

"I know this, I know…" the omega said softly, sobbing despite his words. His back trembled where it pressed against Kurloz's broad chest, the smaller Fein shuddering as he kneaded his hand roughly against his chest, his tone lost. "...but it _aches_..."

Kurloz was still for a moment before he opened his jaws, pressing his sharp fangs against the bondmark scarring Kankri's throat. His fangs found purchase, sinking in gently and feeling Kankri tense as he arched his back against his mate's chest, relaxing and pressing closer as Kurloz began to drink. He held the small omega gently while drinking his fill, a large palm resting over the curve of their growing pups as he drank greedily from his omega. Kankri arched his back for a moment longer before whining softly and going limp as the Alpha's venom numbed his senses, lulling him into a deep, resonating calm. Kurloz pulled back after his thirst was sated, lapping at his omega's neck once more to heal him, watching carefully to be certain the bond was fully healed before he nuzzled between his mate's ears, huffing against his soft fur and crooning low. "I understand your loss, your pain. I know not what I must now do, regarding Gamzee. I am also lost." He sighed heavily, one ear flicking to the side as he continued to speak, though he did not expect Kankri to be coherent enough to respond. "Our Father would have me devour him ritualistically before the pyre, a proper Makara burial, and I have no desire to do so. His body is twisted beyond any death that has come to Fein before. It is grotesque beyond recognition, blasphemy." He looked down at the omega resting against his chest, reaching down to stroke his fingertips against his soft features, Kankri blinking up at him slowly. "I will speak with my sire about everything that has transpired. You, my Belladonna, must stay here, safely hidden. I will not allow harm to come to you or our pups when the Highblood inevitably unleashes his rage." He pet along the curves of the pups nestled within his mate's stomach with gentle claws, Kankri breathing soft and even against his stomach, completely pliant beneath his hands.

"Alpha…" he whispered softly, Kurloz reaching down to take his other hand, squeezing gently and continuing to croon to his mate, the vibrations causing Kankri to gasp softly and close his eyes, completely entranced by his Prima, his senses overwhelmed.

"Rest, Kankri." Kurloz said softly, dark smog slowly curling from his skin and filling the air around him as he let his majyyks rise. "Think no longer of what has happened, or what is to come. Trust in me. I will take care of all things. All wrongs will be made right." He traced the omega's small fingers, flexing his claws against his bondmate's palm. "You needn't worry about anything save our pups, dearest. You will bear the next heir of the Makaras."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! More to come!


	10. Viridian

Equius waited quietly beneath the blinding light of the suns, one large ear turned towards the sound of the sinking ruins, watching as gradually it was consumed in shadow. The entire ship was soon gone, creeping steadily down the crumbling cliffs and into the void reaching far below. He listened intently, the beta snorting and frowning, his shoulders tense. He could sense Fein from the clutch beyond the trees swarming the now empty area where the starship had rested for eons, though he was unable to see from such a great distance if Kurloz was among them. He assumed he would be, the Prima would have come himself to retrieve his brother's body, Equius growling lowly as he felt nervous sweat drip slowly down his neck beneath his dusky black and grey fur.

He turned his ear towards the inner chamber of the hull, listening. This was now the last remaining wreckage of the once great starship, now only scattered fragments of debris still lying strewn about the surface of the planet here and there. His ear dipped low for a moment before pivoting towards the jungle, the beta wondering how much longer it would be before Karkat emerged again with the two humans. Though as of yet there were no signs of Fein from either of the local clans advancing upon their location, it was only a matter of time. Inevitably they would be pursued; their greatest chance of survival was to escape the jungle territory before they were found. Equius was anxious to return to Horuss with news of carrying out his duties. He huffed softly, returning his attention to the west. If they took too much longer to emerge, he would go down into the ship and collect them himself. Until then he would continue to monitor the ridge, and hope that the Makara heir did not set out to find them before they had embarked.

-x-x-x-

Karkat breathed slowly against warm, smooth skin as his eyes barely opened, his nose pressed to something soft and sweet. He blinked slowly, one large pinna twitching as he inhaled deeply and exhaled with a whispered sigh against John's neck, surprised to find how closely they were pressed together. He shifted against the human gently, blushing faintly as he realized he was curled up against John's bare chest, his smooth, furless body devoid of any clothing. He was covered in John's scent, the fragrance fresh with hints of soap and clean water, the bat glancing up at his sleeping features while trying to remain very still. He must have slept with his face against John's neck almost the entire time he was unconscious, his senses were flooded with his sweet taste and warmth.

Embarrassment quickly washing over him in a shuddering wave of heat, Karkat instinctively began to pull away. He tried to make his tired limbs respond, tried to force himself to move away from that inviting, sweet warmth, but he found he couldn't quite bring himself to. John's arms were still wrapped around him in his sleep, holding him tenderly, long fingers curling gently against his dark fur. Karkat took a deep, calming breath, pushing down his initial anxiety, and stilled once again within his light embrace. He didn't want to disturb John while the human rested, fighting to push down that rush of embarrassment while breathing out a soft huff to relax himself, pressing his face to John's neck once more. His scent was calming, and Karkat couldn't deny it affected him in almost the same way an Alpha's scent would have. An Alpha he trusted. He felt protected, completely safe. He pressed a little closer, shifting a hand to rest gently against John's chest, marveling at that warm expanse of smooth, pale skin. Careful with his claws, he settled his palm over John's sternum, fanning out his webbed fingers, feeling his steady heartbeat drumming rhythmically beneath his touch.

He could feel Dave's hand with acute hypersensitivity as it shifted lightly against his side, his fingers curling in reflex against his soft fur. The other human was still asleep behind John, Karkat tilting his ears towards them both, listening to their deep, rhythmic breathing. He'd never done this before, nested with someone so intimately, shared scent with another being for quite so long...but it felt good, it felt right. Being here, like this, with them. He closed his eyes and breathed, taking in the different notes in the air, his scent entwining with theirs to create a calming medley that resonated within his olfactories. It was savory, sweet, and soothing beyond anything Karkat had ever tasted. It was heady with calm, gentle tones and the musky richness of the two human's natural unique alien scents. It did something to him, twisted something inside his chest that had his heart fluttering. He was nesting with two boys who cared for him, who had rescued him from the Alpha that had pursued him mercilessly since he had presented. Two boys who, had they been born the same species, would likely have both presented as Alphas themselves. He twittered softly, pressing close to John's chest and breathing him in, closing his eyes, savoring that quiet moment while they were both still fully relaxed, deeply asleep. He wished they could stay like this for a while longer, without a multitude of different things running spirals in his mind, his anxiety causing him to feel restless. He didn't want this to end, though he knew it had to. They'd already lingered here too long. Now that his fever had faded, they needed to collect what supplies they could and go. Equius was waiting for them.

He lingered still, despite knowing he shouldn't. He didn't want to lose this, needed more of it. He might never experience it again. Movement against his side caused Karkat to tense a bit, and when he perked his ears and looked past John's shoulder he met eyes with Dave. The human was watching him quietly, his expression half-awake and mildly confused. He petted along Karkat's side gently, soothing him with light touches, the bat's churning anxiety slowly dissipating as he relaxed again. His nervousness was replaced with a fluttering in his chest as he pressed his face once more to John's neck, relieved at the other human's gentle response to his closeness. It was alright, Dave was okay with this. He was allowed to touch John this way. The blonde was just checking on him, concerned for his well-being. That knowledge was embarrassing in and of itself.

Dave appeared content to rest a while longer, and Karkat couldn't sense anything from either of the humans that said he was breaching any of their social boundaries, so he shifted the hand not pressed to John's chest closer to the other boy, tracing his claw-tips against Dave's forearm slowly. John had said humans like this, right? Tracing patterns across skin, to show their affection? Dave sighed audibly and closed his eyes again, pressing his face against John's shoulder and shifting his hand to touch Karkat's arm in turn, the bat shivering lightly at the gentle act being reciprocated. He couldn't help the happiness bubbling up within his chest. This felt like they were clutchmates, nesting together, being vulnerable with one another, sharing their scents. He was quickly becoming overwhelmed. There was a time when he thought he would never experience such things, outside of the bond he had shared with Kankri. He doubted he would ever find another clutch to call his own, let alone someone to bond with. He was better off alone, it was safer that way. In the end he could only really trust himself.

Dave seemed to sense he was overthinking, looking over John's shoulder and meeting his eyes once again, smoothing his large, warm palm along Karkat's rouge-tinted fur. "You alright?" He asked softly, Karkat tilting his ears back slightly and nodding, searching his eyes slowly in turn. He felt as if he should say something about what had happened, about the way the two humans had cared for him, kept him safe. He opened his mouth to speak, but a soft twitter escaped instead. Unable to hold that gaze any longer, feeling heat rush across his cheeks, the bat opted to hide his face against John's neck instead of replying. Dave chuckled softly, resuming petting along Karkat's fur, yawning a bit as he nuzzled into John's neck and kissed across his skin lightly. Karkat turned an ear towards that sound, peeking up and watching with curiosity. John shifted lightly as Dave's mouth moved up his neck, a soft sound escaping him as his eyes slowly opened, blinking as he tried to collect his bearings, still half-asleep. He pressed back against Dave's chest, humming softly and tugging Karkat closer, Dave continuing to kiss his neck and pet along Karkat's arm in slow passes, his red eyes locking with Karkat's when the blonde glanced up again.

It sent a rush of heat flooding over him, shivering as lightning raced up his spine. Oh. Was that...an invitation? That look was...carnal. Smouldering desire. Karkat breathed in softly, noting the change in his scent, tasting it as it thickened the air around them. John's scent slowly began changing too as Dave continued touching him, shifting from that calm, warm comfort to something denser, darkening with rich spice and musk. He was aroused, and so was Dave, and Karkat was still nested against them, both of them holding him gently, keeping him close. He didn't know if he should be here, if he should be watching this, but he wanted to. He wanted to see more. He wanted to share this experience with them. Dave traced across his forearm gently, his natural magnetism keeping Karkat close, his heart beating faster. At this moment, Dave radiated the unabashed confidence and sheer prowess of an Alpha. Karkat was completely enthralled.

"Dave…" John breathed out softly, still trying to fully rouse himself from his semi-conscious state. The blonde behind him hummed softly, kissing against his pulse with soft sounds and slow, gentle movements, groaning deeply as John pressed back against his half-hard cock.

"You sleep good?" The older boy asked softly, John nodding and leaning back a bit to blink up at the other, humming his sleepy reply. Dave chuckled softly and shifted down to touch his hip, gripping lightly and rocking against him with a slow cant of his hips, John letting out a soft gasp and arching back when Dave leaned down and kissed him. Karkat made the softest chirrup he could, watching with wide eyes, John humming and reaching back with one hand to touch Dave's face, his other buried in Karkat's soft fur between his shoulder blades. He pulled away from Dave's lips a moment later, the blonde rubbing at his hip gently and kissing his shoulder as John rolled forward to face Karkat again, blue eyes meeting curious red for the briefest of moments before John's whole face turned bright crimson.

"Karkat! Oh, I'm… I'm sorry!" He pulled away from Dave and Karkat at almost exactly the same time, the blonde making a gruff sound behind him as John hurled a pillow at his face. He turned from glaring at the other human to looking towards the Fein apologetically, shifting from beneath the sheets and getting to his feet, grabbing his breathing mask from the nightstand as he padded barefoot towards the door. "I-I'm going to grab one of the suits from the supplies that were brought over! I'll be right back!" He slapped his palm against the door panel and left, the door closing with a quiet beep behind him.

Dave huffed and rolled onto his back, tossing the pillow aside. "Guess that's off limits…" He glanced over at Karkat, the bat still watching him curiously, his ears tilting back a bit when the human's lips turned upwards into a teasing grin. "Y'alright kid? You're lookin' a little flustered."

"That was…" Karkat paused, trying to put words to it as he pushed himself upright. He hadn't imagined that before, when John had described kissing. It had been intimate, watching the two humans together for that brief moment before John had pulled away, and it stirred something deep inside him, twisting at his core. He searched Dave's eyes for a moment before glancing away, looking towards the door. "Was John...angry?"

The Fein returned his eyes to Dave as the boy started to speak. "Nah, seemed more like he was just embarrassed to be caught." He chuckled a bit, shrugging. "I don't know him all that well yet of course, but he seems like the type to speak his mind rather than keep it to himself." He nodded to himself, adding, "If he was angry with me I'm sure he woulda told me off before runnin' outta here like that."

 _Embarrassed to be caught._ Did that mean…? The alien shifted uneasily, tilting his ears back a bit. "Should I...not have watched?" Karkat asked, his voice soft. The last thing he wanted was to cross their unspoken boundaries, though it appeared that human social boundaries differed between each of them, as John had pulled back right away whereas Dave had seemed willing to continue.

The blonde watched him for a long moment before reaching out his hand, lifting his arm and offering him the space beside him. There were no doubts this time, that was definitely an invitation. Karkat hesitated for only a moment before shifting closer and laying down against his side and chest, perking his ears towards the human slightly. Dave hummed softly, pressing his nose to Karkat's temple and wrapping his arms around him gently, squeezing lightly before running a hand down his back and settling against the curve of his spine, kneading slowly. "It's not that, don't worry. You didn't do anything wrong." His voice was soft, deep, his touch willing all of Karkat's tense muscles to relax, the bat twittering softly before nodding and leaning in to rest his face closer to Dave's neck, taking in his scent. So different from John's, but just as pleasant in its own right. He could still taste that hint of arousal, but it was dormant now for the most part. Dave pulled back a bit to press a kiss to Karkat's forehead before meeting his eyes again, one of his hands reaching up to touch his cheek. "You're so damn warm, so _soft_ …" He grinned a little, dipping down closer so his breath was teasing Karkat's lips, the Fein watching him with bright eyes, barely breathing. "S'okay if I kiss you?"

Before Karkat could reply the door opened behind him, the bat tensing a bit and lowering his ears slightly as he heard John's voice. He was saying something to Rose about charting a path to the edge of the jungle but his words were cut short as his eyes settled over them. Finally he spoke. "Dave. Get dressed." He said the words softly, his voice low and his tone indiscernible. The blonde held Karkat's face for just another moment before withdrawing his hands, sighing heavily and pushing up from the cot, padding over to John's side before passing him quietly and exiting behind him.

Karkat kept his ears lowered, not sure if he should speak. Fein were extremely territorial of those they were close to; their clutch, their brood, and especially their bondmates. If Dave and John were...together, in some capacity, he wasn't sure exactly what reaction John would have to seeing Dave touching him the way he had been. He'd even offered a kiss, though Karkat wasn't really sure what he meant by it. Was it just to show how much he cared? A sign of fondness? He stayed where he was, shoulders slightly drawn together and ears back, his mind reeling with thought. The last thing he wanted was to make John upset.

John stayed where he was for several long moments before walking over to the bed. He sighed softly, kneeling down and reaching out to brush his hand across Karkat's cheek, then forehead, testing his temperature against his palm. "Doesn't feel like you're feverish anymore. Are you feeling alright?"

Karkat looked up to meet his concerned gaze, nodding and searching his eyes. He sat up, shifting to the edge of the bed and getting to his feet, wobbling slightly. John wrapped an arm around his waist almost instantly, keeping him close to his side to support him in case he should suddenly fall.

Nerves prickling with anxiety, Karkat slowly looked over and met John's eyes, the human watching him with a soft, warm smile. "Are you ready to get started?" He asked softly, and Karkat perked his ears up, nodding. John didn't seem upset; his usual cheery, gentle self, and Karkat pushed back his uncertainties to focus on the task at hand. They had wasted too much time here, albeit it had been necessary. They now had only one priority: getting to safety as quickly as they possibly could. There was quite a long distance to travel before reaching the safety of the Viridian Sea. They couldn't delay any longer.

Seeing Karkat was alright, John walked with him towards the door slowly, letting Karkat move at the pace he liked until it seemed the Fein had his balance. John stopped for a moment to grab the backpack he had left the previous night, checking its contents before securing it across his shoulders, Karkat watching him with mild interest until the human returned to his side. Both boys looked towards the bunker door as it opened wide, Dave standing on the other side in full equipment, his rucksack and katana in one hand and the large duffel in the other. He grinned wide behind his mask, nodding to his companions. "Alright cowboys, let's get this show on the road!" He turned around, heading up the incline towards the holo-deck and tapping his scanner, John and Karkat walking close behind. "Rose darlin', we're goin' sunny side up in t-minus five minutes. Give me that panoramic view we've been goin' over on the holo wontcha please?"

_Affirmative, Specialist. Now displaying panoramic view of surrounding environment. Thermal and regional mapping are calculated in real time. Monitored gravity readings continue to fluctuate mildly during daylight interval. Estimated output predicted to vary drastically as night interval approaches._

He waved his hand across the holomap that appeared, panning out to show the terrain stretching beyond their current location. "Okay fellas, here's the bridge." He pointed to the lower southwest side of the map, at the edge of the cliffs stretching horizontally, parallel to the endless expanse of water further to the south. "The rest of the ship is toast, sunk down into the ravine, so going back for more supplies is outta the question at this point. We're gonna have to work with what we've got on hand." He flicked his fingers across the border of the hologram and pulled up a list of compiled medical equipment and various pieces of gear. "Judging from what I pulled from the med-bay we should be set in that department for a while, our more immediate concern is food and water." He sat the duffel down on top of the table and unzipped it, digging around for a moment before pulling out a sealed pack of water purifiers, the small attachments shining neon blue as Dave held them up to the light. "I managed to grab these without realizing it, must have been shoved in the back of one of the supply cabinets, so if we can find a fresh source we should be able to stay hydrated." He shoved the purifiers back into the bag, before busying himself with his rucksack and katana, glancing over to John and Karkat while he adjusted and tightened the straps crossing over his chest. "For food supply, I was thinking Doctor Harley might have some suggestions, and turns out I was right."

John took a step forward, listening while reaching into the bag, finding what he was looking for a few moments later. He pulled out the jar of salve he had used the night before, glancing up at Dave. The blonde must have just taken it from the shower, it was still beaded with droplets of stray water. He turned to Karkat, the Fein watching him silently as John leaned in and examined his neck, assessing the healing of his bite mark. I definitely looked better, but still hadn't healed completely. "So Doctor Harley had some theories on the local flora being edible?" He asked, applying a fresh layer of tonic around the oval ring of teeth marks embedded into Karkat's skin, the bat wincing and hissing only slightly when John tended to the larger set of fang marks across his shoulder and neck. "Were any of her theories proven accurate? Or was her research cut short again?"

"Well, the archives show she had enough evidence to prove her theory, but not enough resources to act upon it." The engineer shared a stream of data from his personal sights to the large hologram before them, highlighting several key points of data within the research professor's encrypted files. "There were a few occasions where the Fein she and her team were friendly with brought in produce, especially near the end. Because of this, they had a chance to try certain fruits and fungi from outside of the jungle. Turns out they were all non-toxic to humans." He gestured to a few pictures of different recipes the doctor had written down, and pictures of various fruits, vegetables, and fungi. "Everything _within_ the jungle however, is extremely toxic. Since the humans before us were forced to remain so close to the ship, they had no way of venturing out and finding a steady supply to keep from starving. So...if we can make it to the east and get outta here alive…"

"We may be able to find edible flora in the grasslands." John finished for him, Dave nodding and cocking a finger-gun at him, grinning.

"You betcha. That's the plan, anyway." His red eyes looked to Karkat, the Fein's gaze trained on the pictures and data spread out across the display. "You recognize any of these, Karkat?" Dave asked, gesturing to the hologram. "Know where we might be able to find some?"

The Fein chirped, nodding slowly as John gently applied another layer of the salve before pulling away, securing the cap and shoving it into the duffel before zipping it shut. "Possibly, though I will admit I've lived in the jungle my entire existence. Most of these I've only seen in passing, sold by outer-clade trade merchants." He stepped forward, narrowing his eyes a bit and reaching up to pinch one of the pictures, enlarging the snippet of a bright yellow fungi. "These can be found on the cliffs nearby, though they're definitely a different color than I've seen before."

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me." Dave sighed, cracking his knuckles before resuming his typing. "According to her notes all of the plants around here were corrupted by the fuel cells and quickly turned toxic. We'll have to keep a lookout once we're closer to the grasslands." Dave's fingertips tapped lightly against the air as he made a few notes on top of the presented data, gesturing to the map again. "What about water sources?" He zoomed in a bit, focusing on the terrain details of the surrounding jungle. "Has to be flowing water mind you, nothing stagnant or still like ponds or lakes." He glanced down at Karkat as he spoke, "Streams, rivers, waterfalls? Anything like that?"

Karkat nodded, pointing out several small streams weaving through the tall groves of jungle trees, unnoticeable beneath the shadow of the canopy until marked along the wild, rugged terrain. Dave made note of each location, calling for Rose to analyze the water sources the Fein gestured to, trying to determine if they were viable. Most of the streams were closer towards the edge of the jungle, heading east in the direction they were planning on travelling. They would be able to stock up on fresh water along the way.

"Okay then, that about does it." He turned to look at John, the two humans exchanging a long glance before Dave nodded to him. "Anything else we need that I haven't thought of? We don't wanna leave anything behind."

John shook his head, finding Dave's synopsis thorough and efficient, their current supplies enough to hopefully cover all their immediate needs. "I think we've gathered everything we can from the ship. Let's start heading out while there's still daylight to travel under. If we can be out of the jungle before dark I think that would be safest for everyone." He looked over to Karkat who nodded his agreement, the Fein pivoting his ears towards the double-doors behind them and glancing towards the exit, listening intently. John could hear footsteps approaching on the other side, heavy enough that the bridge was moving slightly with each step.

"Equius is getting restless. It would be wise to go before he becomes even more disagreeable." The bat frowned a bit, turning to walk away from the deck towards the doors, the glossy salve John had applied shining brightly as he shifted under the light of the hologram.

Dave grabbed the duffel in hand and started after him, looking over at John with a little nod and a wide smile. "Alright Cap'n! Send us off in style! Let's roam!"

John couldn't help but smile back, laughing softly and shaking his head. They were leaving the ship for good this time, and while Rose would follow them remotely within their scanners, they would likely never have access to the physical bridge again. Assuming this was their final farewell, John turned and glanced around the Captain's bridge, eyes flitting across the illuminated starfleet monitors, the scattered documents, the abandoned coffee cups here and there. "Farewell, everyone." He whispered, feeling his chest draw tight. "Thank you for your service." He brushed his fingertips along the edges of the holodeck before raising his voice to call out to the autopilot system. "Rose, on my authority. Kill all power to the ship, shut everything down. From now on mainframe data will be remote access only." He began walking towards the doors leading outside, calling over his shoulder as he left. "Initiate Emergency Activation Sequence R.O.A.M. - Starfleet Regulation Autopilot Communications System Hybrid Mode." His voice echoed down the corridor, Rose chiming after him, confirming his words.

_Emergency Activation Sequence R.O.A.M. - R.O.S.E. Initiating Hybrid Mode._

As he walked down the corridor he could hear all systems shutting down, the power grinding to a halt, killing all lights and sealing all airtight doors. The sunlight shining down from the hull breach blinded him as he climbed to the surface, blinking to clear the spots from his vision as his goggles darkened to shield his eyes from the suns. Karkat was waiting for him, John stepping up beside him, Equius and Dave already on the ground below, looking up towards them while waiting for them to catch up. John turned to look back at the ship, waiting to see what would happen now that the sequence had been initiated. He had seen simulations of R.O.A.M. before, as had every member of starfleet deep space travel personnel, but he still wasn't quite prepared for the giant pillar of light that soared towards the suns, and then the hologram that appeared before him once the pillar had disappeared.

"Hello, John."

The holographic A.I. was different than he had imagined. In simulations she was always seen as a beam of pure white light, but the details after that were obscure. He had previously thought of Rose as a self-learning android, a living computer, a mechanical being. He knew her personality only as the automated, restricted responses set by starfleet regulations. He had never heard her call his name before so simply, like greeting an old friend. It felt completely natural. It felt _human_.

The hologram that stood before him was more realistically humanlike than anything he'd ever witnessed before with his own eyes. The simulations did not do her justice. If it weren't for her display interface flickering now and then, he would have thought she was a real, living girl standing before him. She stared at him silently, her eyes watching his every move; evaluating, learning, growing into something _more_ with every moment. Her irises were electric violet, the rest of her appearance ghostly white. Her short hair was cropped around her face and flowing lightly on a simulated breeze, her white bodysuit clinging to her curves. She wore the same standard issue starfleet uniform that matched the set John and Dave currently wore, and it was almost uncanny seeing her this way, as if John had met her somewhere before. She didn't move or speak for several long moments, just watching John, then smiled at him gently, soft laughter breaking the silence. Not mechanical, not automated, _real_.

"It's nice to meet you too, Captain. Or is it alright that I call you John?" Karkat was watching the hologram with wide eyes, glancing between Rose and John, chittering curiously. The A.I. looked over at him and gave him a smile as well, then spoke to him in his native tongue, John listening through their linked translators. "It's a pleasure to speak with you directly, Karkat. I have been watching your interactions with John closely, since the beginning." She linked her hands behind her back, leaning forward a bit and tilting her head to the side, her hair gently flowing around her. "If there is anything I can do to assist you, please do not hesitate to ask. You may not be official starfleet personnel, but you are a valuable asset to our mission, and it is an honor to stand beside you on equal ground."

Dave whistled long and low, propping a hand on his hip and grinning up at them from the ground below, John looking over to him as he spoke. "Damn, my brother really knows how to program an A.I.! She's beautiful, isn't she?"

Rose flickered from her place beside John to reappear beside Dave, leaning closer and inspecting the blonde, who watched her just as curiously as she evaluated him, leaning side to side. "Hello Dave. Dirk has told me a lot about you. It is nice to finally meet you, face to face."

"Nice to meet you too, darlin'. Good to have you with us on the road." He grinned and tapped his scanner, bringing up his personal sights. "Makes it easier than pinging questions back and forth, for sure. You can be with us the entire way now that you're in hybrid mode, learning with us as we go."

She leaned back a bit and laughed brightly, nodding as she responded, "That's the idea! Hybrid Rose at your service, Specialist."

While the A.I. and engineer became better acquainted, John and Karkat made their way down the side of the ship, Karkat walking over to Equius while John came to stand beside Dave and Rose, glancing between them. When Equius started walking, they all fell in step behind him, talking back and forth and plotting out their trajectory. Seeking out a path that would keep them away from the dense jungle yet not too close to the cliffs proved rather difficult, Rose bringing up a holographic map before her open palms to assist, charting a viable route and highlighting the water sources Karkat had indicated before. She flickered ahead of them to Equius' side, greeting him in his native tongue and indicating the best path to the grasslands based on the information she had gathered, the large grey bat's expression confused yet intrigued as she smiled up at him and her interface flickered lightly.

They continued walking throughout the day, stopping only briefly here and there for Rose to gather more detailed, accurate information on various flora that they passed by. She quickly crafted an herbology guide based on Doctor Harley's research data, Karkat's knowledge, and first-hand experience she was gleaning herself, sharing it through her integrated interface within the human's sights. She educated them as they walked, speaking with Karkat now and then as well to hash out the finer details of certain words and phrases that had a wide level of disconnect when translated from Fein to English. They worked together, clarifying several things for the bat when he asked about Dave's idioms and accent, which was so unlike John's patterns of speech. Rose smiled and patiently explained every question that arose from the last, bright and eager each time at Karkat's willingness to learn, the Fein's expressions open and excited as he chatted back and forth with her in his own language, smiling happily. John and Dave stayed close together, shoulder-to-shoulder, falling into step behind them a few paces and listening while they conversed.

"He's so excited to be able to speak with her and ask her all sorts of questions about us." John laughed softly, watching the bat affectionately with a soft look.

Dave nodded, sighing and reaching up to rub the back of his head, carding his fingers through his blonde locks before looking over at the boy beside him. "Yeah, he is. Ya gotta admit he's pretty damn cute when he's smilin' like that. Could'a asked us though, I would have been happy to talk to him about the ins and outs of bein' human."

John nodded, looking over at Dave. He would have been happy to answer Karkat's questions too, but it seemed simpler this way, and the Fein was clearly enjoying himself and having fun. "I guess it's easier to ask her about everything when she's an open book, and he doesn't have to worry about what she's thinking as he asks her what he wants to know." His tone softened as he reached over, brushing his gloved hand against Dave's lightly. "This morning, when you woke me, I'm sorry if I responded immaturely." He looked towards Karkat and Rose, his expression soft. "I was afraid seeing us like that might...upset him, somehow. We don't know anything about their culture, and I don't want to overstep any boundaries he might have." He glanced up at the taller boy, who was watching him quietly. "It had nothing to do with you kissing me. I liked that part. A lot."

Dave hummed quietly, thinking for a moment before asking, "So it's alright then? If I kiss you?" He leaned a bit closer, grinning from behind his mask. "Can I kiss you whenever I want?"

John laughed a bit at that, shrugging slightly. "I have no real objections, though it might be some time before we can do so and actually _breathe_." He looked towards Rose, thinking of her hybrid mode capabilities. He had heard that once roaming, she could service as an emergency biodome, but he wasn't exactly sure how to activate that sequence. He assumed now that she was capable of making her own decisions and determining her own actions she would shelter them appropriately when the time came to do so. Thoughts wandering through various scenarios, Dave's voice eventually brought his attention back to the other astronaut. The question was muted intentionally, the other boy leaning closer to his shoulder.

"Would you have been upset if I had kissed Karkat?"

John's eyes widened a bit, looking up to meet Dave's eyes. He hadn't thought much of it, aside from his concern about Karkat's personal boundaries, but it sounded like Dave was asking for _permission_. He glanced away, thoughtful, taking a few moments to respond. "It wouldn't have...upset me." He paused briefly, adding, " I have no expectations from you. We haven't even discussed what happened last night." He met Dave's eyes again, bright blue searching vivid red. "I don't expect you to change anything about yourself to please me. If you want to kiss him, and he's open to it, then...you should. You're both consenting adults. What you decide to do together is really none of my business." He searched his expression, his voice soft. "Right?"

Dave took a moment to intertwine their fingers, squeezing gently against the padding of his glove. "I'm asking because I care about your feelings, John. I barely know you, but I _want_ to know you." His eyes were soft behind his darkened lenses. "I want to know more of you, maybe one day _all_ of you, if you'll let me."

The dark-headed boy laughed softly, squeezing back his fingers and looking off towards the tree-line nearby, thinking. Where to begin. He supposed he should start with the basics. "Well...I'm an only child. I'm twenty-three. I'm originally from Washington." He stopped for a moment, trying to think of things that wouldn't be in his personnel file. Dave could easily ascertain the basics from his bio within the archives. "My mother died when I was young so it was just me and my father back home. He had a rare form of cancer and died while I was finishing fleet-school. I went to his funeral right before we embarked on our mission to Ganymede."

Dave watched him for a few moments before asking quietly, "So this was your first starfleet mission?"

"To deep space, yes." John clarified, looking from the trees ahead to where Karkat was speaking with Equius. Rose was walking beside them and matching her pace precisely to the smaller bat's, mirroring his movements intentionally, likely collecting data. "I hadn't been to Jupiter before, though I had been to the colonies several times. I'd never traveled to any planet beyond the belt prior to the Ganymede mission."

"I've been on starships as long as I can remember." Dave said, looking towards the bats and A.I. as well. "My mother and father were First Class Engineers on several exploratory missions to Neptune, so I spent most of my childhood in orbit. We spent years there, in and out of hypersleep, my parents overseeing all programming and maintenance systems protocols for several accompanying followup missions as well." He smiled fondly, looking thoughtful. "Really their assignment wasn't anything special, simply maintaining and upgrading mechanics on the systems collecting water from the surface, but I thought they were the coolest. I knew that rig inside and out, the crew was like my family. Orbiting that icey planet was my first real home."

"Wow! Unbelievable! I've always wanted to see the ice floes on Neptune!" John said excitedly, tugging at Dave's hand gently as he spoke. "It must be amazing! The auroras are magnificent in every research documentary I've ever watched, they must be wondrous to see in person!" He glanced up towards the large avians circling the treetops high above, weaving in and out of the canopy while crowing. "To have a childhood growing up on a spaceship orbiting an outer planet...that must have been extraordinary."

Dave's tone was amused as he continued. "Visiting Earth for the first time was the hardest part of it, I think. Going from all that blue to desert." When John looked to him again, he gave him a cheesy grin, drawling. "My family's originally from Texas, if you couldn't tell by my sporadic accent. It comes and goes, especially when I'm multitasking, or...distracted." He squeezed John's fingers and the other boy blushed lightly behind his environmental protective gear, a small pout curving down his lips at his teasing. "When we moved back home after finishing my parents' Neptune missions, my Bro eventually took on an assignment to Jupiter, and got me enlisted on the same engineering team so we could stick together. He knew I wanted to get back out there, in space." He sighed heavily, reaching up his other hand to rub at the back of his head. "Guess I got my wish of never seeing Earth again. Ironic thing is, at the time, I really didn't hate it so much. Texas was just as much my home as the starships were in the end. Two halves of a whole, just different perspectives of outer space."

John nodded, thinking about his home. The home he'd never see again, unless by some miracle they found a way back. If there was even a home to go back to. There were endless possibilities regarding how much their galaxy might have changed over the past 900-billion years. Earth might not exist any longer at all. Now that the ship was gone and they were wandering the alien planet's surface, he doubted they had any other options than try to adapt and survive here, and make a life for themselves alongside the Fein for as long as they possibly could. It was grim to think about, John casting his eyes towards the path before them, the grass gradually changing color from deep dark emerald to a richer, brighter green. He wondered how far the other humans had ever traveled away from the ship. He wondered if they'd walked these same footpaths before with the Fein who had once been their friends. Pulling up his sights, John evaluated the shifting biome, his eyes widening a bit at the results. They had only been travelling for a short while but already putting this much distance between themselves and the ravine had caused the environmental readings to change drastically for the better. The air here was less toxic, the plantlife surrounding them untinged by the fuel cells that had soaked into the porous ground and mutated the area immediately surrounding the starship. His conversation with Dave set aside, he called out to Rose, the A.I. flickering to his side milliseconds later.

"Rose, do you see what I'm seeing? These readings?" He looked over at her through the data spanned across his personal sights, Dave reaching up and tapping his temple to bring himself up to speed.

"Yes, John. They're quite promising!" She replied cheerily, her holographic interface humming softly as she leaned towards him and smiled. "We have nearly reached the first viable water source Karkat pointed out before. Shall we investigate further?"

"Hell yeah we should." Dave grinned, clapping John on the shoulder and jogging ahead a bit to fall into step beside Karkat, the bat turning his ears towards him in greeting. Rose took a place at John's side in his absence, walking with him and humming along a soft tune that John quickly realized was a longer version of the starfleet command jingle, smiling and laughing softly as he watched her in amazement.

She looked to him, smiling again and inquiring, "What is it, John? Your expression reads as to indicate my vocalizations are entertaining to you, is that accurate?"

"It is very accurate, yes." John said with a soft laugh, "You have no idea how many times I've heard that jingle. I'm sure Dave's heard it almost his entire life, growing up on a starship and all."

"I am pleased to see my actions amuse you. It is good to maintain high morale while undergoing emergency proceedings." She skipped ahead a step, turning to begin walking backwards with her hands clasped behind her as she smiled up at the astronaut. "Please do not hesitate to let me know if there is anything more I can do for you, to make this transition easier."

Dave was listening through their shared chatter link, and turned back to look at them while calling, "Why don't you play us something, Rose? I know for a _fact_ my brother must have programmed you with enhanced audio playback. Bro was obsessed with music." He tapped his scanner, flicking his fingers through the air for a moment before adding, "Why don't you pick something out of his personal archive? Looks like he's got a _ton_ of stuff in here."

"Affirmative, Specialist." Rose replied with a grin, and suddenly her hologram disappeared. In its stead was a small glowing orb; a holosprite. The white orb rose towards the bright sky, sprouting beetle-like translucent wings and glowing electric violet as she began circling above them, beginning audio playback as they continued walking.

"Damn, he was such a nerd." Dave said softly, clearly amused, shaking his head and glancing towards Karkat while nudging him with his elbow. "That's _definitely_ a rip-off of Navi from _Zelda: Ocarina of Time_ …"

The bat blinked up at him in confusion, not understanding the reference, but John caught it well enough. He laughed and quickened his pace to walk beside the human and Fein, Equius still a ways ahead of them, charting the path ahead. Karkat looked over to John, walking between the two astronauts steadily, chirping curiously and watching as the holosprite flittered overhead. "What is it? That sound?" He pivoted his ears towards her as she circled back and forth, drawing patterns in the air with violet dust trailing behind her.

"That, my friend, is a wholesome remix of house, trance, and dubstep; courtesy of yours truly and my radical big bro Dirk Strider." He reached over and wrapped his arm around Karkat's shoulders, pulling the Fein closer as they walked, the bat twittering in mild confusion but listening as Dave prattled on. "Y'see Batboy, there are a few things you need to know, and I mean absolutely _need_ to know, about humankind. Number one." He held up his finger as he spoke, Karkat's large pinnae cupping towards him, spanning wide as he listened intently. "How to appreciate a good beat." John groaned softly, shaking his head and glancing away. This was going to be ridiculous, he could already tell. "Number two," Dave said, raising another digit, "When you feel that beat, you gotta let it move you. Doesn't matter how, doesn't matter when. Don't overthink it, just let the music flow." He glanced up and caught John's eyes when the younger looked at him again, chuckling softly before holding up a third finger as he counted. "Thirdly, and the most important not to forget," He beamed down at Karkat, the Fein flicking one ear to the side under the intensity of his gaze," Always, and I mean always, tip your DJ."

"Oh for the love of-" John sighed exasperatedly, trying to hide his smile as he shooed Dave away and pulled Karkat closer to his side, the Fein looking up at him, clearly confused as to what important thing he wasn't supposed to be forgetting.

"What is...DJ?" Karkat twittered softly, glancing back over at Dave, who was chatting with the holosprite that had swooped down to speak with him. "The word doesn't translate to Fein."

"How about 'idiot'? Does that word translate?" He asked, Karkat nodding a bit and glancing back towards the blonde, frowning a little as he realized Dave must have been teasing him. "Don't mind him, he's just having a good time. He's probably trying to help the day not seem so long by distracting us with his...turntable capabilities."

"Hey!" Dave said, catching at least the last bit of their conversation, holding up a finger and shaking it pointedly as he spoke. "Don't dis the turntables. Respect the turntables."

John quirked a brow behind his goggles, scoffing. "How did you even learn how to _use_ those ancient things? Weren't you supposed to be busy helping your parents maintain a starship while you were out in space or something useful? To help benefit the survival of mankind?"

The sound Dave made was nothing short of aghast at John's reaction, pressing a hand to his chest as if he'd been wounded. "Dubstep is a _huge_ benefit to mankind! Tell 'em, Rose!"

The holosprite laughed brightly, Rose's voice chiming from the glowing orb. "We are approaching checkpoint, Captain. Water source is directly ahead."

John looked towards the east, seeing Equius was already standing beside the small stream, his one ear tuned towards them as they approached. It was only a few yards wide and relatively shallow at the crossing, the larger bat wading through it ankle-deep before continuing on to the other side. Dave went to the riverbed further upstream where the bubbling water appeared deeper, crouching down beside it, John walking over stand at his side while checking diagnostics and calculating the digital readings Rose presented. The A.I. flew in circles overhead for a few moments before she returned to her humanlike appearance at the edge of the water, crouching down beside Dave and watching as he dug through the duffel. He retrieved the pack of filtration devices, pulling an empty water bottle from the bag and affixing the blue disc across the nozzle, securing it in place before dipping the bottle below the water. It took some time to fill, the purification disk allowing only drinkable water to flow into the bottle, and when it was half-way filled Dave lifted it up and examined it, offering it to John. The other boy took it from him, examining the contents while his sights highlighted various properties and flickered with new data entries before flashing green at his peripherals.

"Successful extraction of purified H2O. The water appears in all aspects to be drinkable without any adverse side effects. No traces of harmful contamination." Rose nodded towards the dark-headed astronaut, waiting expectantly. "How does it taste compared to water from Earth, John?"

Before the astronaut could pull up his mask enough to take a sip, Karkat and Equius both turned at the same time to look behind them, eyes wide and ears perked on high alert. He frowned and followed their gaze, Dave rising to his feet and looking up as well, shielding his eyes from the direct sunlight. The giant avians overhead were circling closer, flying against dark billowing smoke that was rising from deep within the jungle. There was a strange sensation in the wind, something ominous and foreboding. It sent a chill up John's spine. If he hadn't known any better, he could _swear_ he heard voices whispering, growing closer, riding that thick, dark smoke. The voices were hushed by the loud crowing high overhead and the rush of wind through the tall trees, the canopy creaking and swaying gently with the sweeping gale. "What is that?" John asked, his eyes on Karkat. The bat's fur was on end, his shoulders tense, hackles raised as he bared his fangs and let out a low hiss.

"The pyre is lit." Karkat said softly, looking over to Equius who was already growling low in the back of his throat. "We don't have much time."

"They're coming." The larger bat growled, rushing into action. He lurched back across the stream and grabbed John first under one arm, then Dave under the other, and then burst into a run. John's stomach was in his throat, clinging to the water bottle tightly, Dave calling back for Karkat to grab the medical supplies before they were over the closest ridge and descending down a gradual incline. Equius kept running, increasing his speed, kicking off hard from the ground and gaining leverage needed to take to the sky. They kept low altitude, the dark smoking growing denser and darker, enough to grey the brilliant white light pouring down from the suns, thunder rolling in the distance. The smoke from the pyre...was it causing a _storm_?

Karkat caught up with them quickly, Equius' flight slowed by his extra cargo, the Fein holding the bag that had been left behind when Equius had grabbed the humans. John glanced over at Dave, the other astronaut barely visible past the large Fein carrying them, reaching up to tap his scanner so he could speak to him through their chatter link. "Dave! Can you make out where we're going? Are we on the right path?"

"Looks like it!" Dave called back, the engineer sharing a map of their location between them, John quickly realizing they were covering ground at a much quicker rate than they had been on foot. This was exponentially faster. Had it not been for Equius, they would still just barely be beyond the stream. They had been making good time at their consistent pace, but it was nothing compared to how far they were now, covering leagues in mere minutes.

Still uncertain what they were running from, John eyed the growing storm warily as he called out to Rose, the A.I. chiming in his ear lightly as he spoke. "Rose! Can you map out the area ahead to the east? We need to find shelter, somewhere to hide, anything!" He didn't know what was coming, but he knew it couldn't be good. He switched to thermals, looking for heat signatures in the trees, exhaling shakily when finding none, as of yet. If they were being hunted down by the Fein from Gamzee's clade, if somehow they were surrounded...it would be the end of everything. There was no way Karkat and Equius could possibly fight back against an entire swarm.

The holosprite appeared as soon as John spoke, easily keeping up with them and flying alongside John's shoulder, darting between the humans and Fein now and then to evaluate their vitals and trajectory. She wove out of sight briefly, flittering ahead to chart their path, the digital map she was crafting appearing in their sights, their location a yellow pulse streaking eastward across the map. The jungle stretched on and on as far as the eye could see, but as the land slowly leveled out ahead on the horizon the grasslands were steadily coming into view. Karkat chirped loudly, banking past Equius' shoulder and chirping again to get the other bat's attention, leaving John and Dave alone to watch the thunderous smoke cloud turning the sky dark-grey, blotting out the suns so thoroughly their sights switched to night mode automatically. This was more than just smoke from a fire, or a growing storm. This was something else entirely. This felt like…

"Magic…?" John whispered to himself, unsure if he should even be considering the possibility. Karkat had mentioned the Fein could control magic of some kind, specifically magic involving blood. He tried to look over his shoulder, to see ahead or catch a glimpse of Karkat, but both John and Dave were facing the west, tucked securely underneath the larger bat's biceps, his forearms locked around them tightly to keep them in place while in flight. He wasn't going to be able to ask about that any time soon, not until they landed. All he could do was wait.

Rose presented the data she was receiving as they continued on, the terrain slowly and gradually transitioning from tall towering trees and writhing, emerald grasses to large, wide open space and tall, dense thickets of high grasses spreading on and on like an endless green sea. The Viridian Sea. It was aptly named, John dismissing his sights and looking around at their surroundings, looking down below and watching as the ground drew nearer and nearer. Equius must be landing. They eventually touched down, Equius running a bit to slow his pace before finally coming to an abrupt halt, knocking the wind out of John and Dave simultaneously before both humans were dropped unceremoniously to the plush, thick grass surrounding them.

Karkat hovered in the air just above them, his ears trained on the darkness stretching high into the sky, chittering and clicking while lowering his ears, Equius watching and growling low in thunderous rumbles that matched those echoing within the sky. Finally the smaller bat touched down beside John as the humans slowly got to their feet, sliding the bag from his shoulder and offering it to the blonde, who took it from him silently. John was still clutching the bottle, shaking lightly and trying to calm his nerves by finally taking a sip, guiding his mask up and holding his breath while tipping a small amount into his mouth, replacing his mask before breathing out and tentatively swallowing. It tasted...different. Tinted with a coppery taste akin to soil, like water drawn from a well. Nothing too strange, just different that he had been expecting. He looked to Dave and offered him the bottle next, the blonde taking it from him with a soft whisper of thanks and repeating John's movements.

Karkat and Equius were talking quietly in hushed clicks and growls, the holosprite circling around them as they conversed. Eventually Karkat snorted and turned an ear to the side, glancing away. Equius was quiet for a long moment before exhaling deeply, training his one ear to the west, his tone soft when he finally spoke. "Stay safe, Karkat. Survive."

“Don’t worry about me just, go already…” The smaller bat said in reply, but there was no heat behind his words, just quiet apprehension. Whether at something Equius had said, or their current predicament in general, John couldn’t be sure. Equius focused his attention on Karkat for a long moment before turning to walk away, starting back towards the jungle, but after a few steps Karkat chirped and followed after him. He quickly stepped over to the larger bat’s side and reached out to touch his arm, his ears dipping back slightly. Equius watched him silently, his ear pivoting to and fro, the silence heavy between them, until finally Karkat spoke. “You can. Just this once. I’ll allow it.”

The larger Fein seemed surprised, flattening his ear for a moment before turning it towards Karkat and shifting to face him fully, his eyes trained on the smaller male as he spoke. "I don't want to force you, Karkat. You aren't obligated-"

"I am. I'm in your debt." His voice was low, tinged with embarrassment. He shifted closer to the beta, looking up at him and tilting his head to the side, exposing his uninjured neck and shoulder. Soft, nervous chirrs escaped him as Equius hesitated but finally dipped down and leaned in close, huffing against his rouge fur softly. Karkat stayed very still as Equius pressed his face to his neck and inhaled directly over his scent glands, breathing softly for a few moments before rubbing his cheek to Karkat's, the smaller bat reciprocating after the smallest moment of hesitation. One of Equius' hands moved to Karkat's, linking their fingers slowly, gently, and after a small, quiet moment of scenting one another the larger bat pulled away. He met Karkat's eyes, exhaling audibly and crooning low and deep, Karkat searching his eyes for a moment before glancing away, withdrawing his hand from Equius'. The black and grey bat took that as his queue, pausing only for a moment to pull the translator disc from his ear and offer it to Karkat before turning and walking away towards the jungle, not looking back. He didn't say goodbye as he went.

Karkat watched his back for a while, strangely silent, then turned to look at the humans who were watching him, waiting. He warbled a bit and dipped his ears back in embarrassment when he realized they must have witnessed the entire exchange, then cleared his throat and nodded towards the eastern horizon. "Let's keep going. We're out of the jungle which hopefully means the Fein from the Makara clan likely won't follow us much further. The edge of the Zahhak clan is still close by, but if we can get a good distance away from both of their territories neither clade will pursue us into the depths of the Viridian sea. This is Nitram territory." He stepped closer and offered the translator to Dave, then turned and started walking towards the east through clusters of thin reeds and tall grasses, parting them with his hands as he went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They've finally reached the Viridian Sea, but what awaits them now is a mystery as they search for the Nitram clan's location within the vast expanses of the grass sea.
> 
> Thanks for reading! More to come!


	11. Rebellion

The humans quickly followed behind Karkat, sticking to the footpath he was weaving through the grasses, the tall blades high enough to nearly reach their shoulders. "The Nitrams watch over the entire sea, their territory spanning across the area as far and wide as the grassland itself." He glanced over his shoulder at John, then to Dave following behind him. "According to what Equius has told me, there are two territories that border the Nitram clade; Medigo to the far east and Captor to the far north. To the south lies the Storm Plains, and beyond the plains lies scattered beaches following the coastline of the Tainted Sea."

He pushed through a dense patch of reeds before stepping out into a small clearing where a brook began weaving through the grasses, following along the twisting path and continuing to talk over his shoulder as they went.

"If we are lucky we shall not encounter anyone on our way to the center of the Viridian Sea. Most do not travel here, so close to the Storm Plains, for the storms are unpredictable and weave along both the southern border of the grasslands and northern border of the plains. They have claimed many lives over the centuries and can cluster within moments into an unparalleled, inescapable force." He tilted an ear towards the south, eyeing the sky. It was dark behind them to the west, but the thundering smoke cloud that had followed them to the edge of the jungle seemed to have begun to dissipate, the light above them slowly becoming bright again the further they continued east.

"So if we stay parallel to the south, traveling due east, we should reach the Nitrams without running into the storms, or any other Fein?" John asked, hearing Dave typing steadily behind him, humming as he multitasked and carefully stepped along the edge of the brook. Karkat nodded a bit, dipping his ears low and he passed under a cluster of crossing reeds, his clawed fingertips stretching out to touch the grasses on either side of the small stream, easily keeping his balance as he spoke.

"The southern areas past the grasslands are abandoned, reclaimed by nature; even without the potential of sudden storms the plains have grown wild with toxins from the Tainted Sea. The area is not suitable for living." His ears tilted towards the humans behind him, twitching lightly to the sound of Dave's typing. "There should be no one in this area, at least not until we bump into one of the Nitrams." He jumped lightly to the other side of the brook and looked back at John, offering his hand to help the human cross. John took it gently, Dave following after quietly, stepping through the water, his boots sloshing against the current. They stopped briefly after a while to collect water, filling several bottles and stowing them away inside John's bag and Dave's rucksack before continuing on. They had been travelling all day and still had not come across anything to eat. At least, for now, they would be able to remain hydrated and hope that eventually food would come across their path. Rose's holosprite kept to the skies above them, quiet for the most part, continuing to build upon their ever expanding map while cataloguing new data she observed and collected.

John held Karkat's hand while they walked, Karkat ahead of him ever so slightly as he led their footpath, and when the brook eventually ended they were at the mouth of a marsh, the ground lush and soggy beneath them. There were small leafy plants stretching out across the wet soil that reminded John of moss, or giant clover, Karkat carefully stepping around the deeper pools and leading them through on safe patches of plantlife, Dave reaching out and taking John's other hand so they formed a small chain and continued on. Rose flitted around their shoulders and surged ahead across the marshy patch of grassland, resuming once again her upbeat playback of music Dave had requested before, the blonde humming along as he followed dutifully after John.

Slowly the daylight faded into sunset, and between the tall grasses and clusters of reeds, John could begin to make out the outline of the two moons, faint stars speckling the sky around them. The temperature was steadily dropping, causing a heavy fog to shroud them as they reached the other side of the marsh and began through tall, dense grasses once more. The grasses were taller here, well above their height even with Karkat's large pinnae and Dave's natural height advantage. They couldn't see even with their night-vision and thermal sights, unable to pierce through the thick grasses and the hazy fog, and so they relied on Karkat's superior night vision and Rose's directions to guide them continuously toward the east. The holosprite was silent now, emitting only a soft glow wherever she hovered, lighting up the area surrounding them with alternating soft white and violet light.

"Do we know if we're even heading in the right direction?" John asked softly after a while, the moons rising high overhead. "Have you ever been this far before?"

"No. I've never left the jungle." Karkat replied simply, tilting one of his ears towards John's voice. "We should know once we have found the right location, the Nitrams have a dome at the center of their territory. It should be illuminated, extremely easy to see now that it's dark." He glanced up at the holosprite overhead above the reeds, calling out softly, "Rose, can you keep them heading in the right direction? I'll see if I can find the dome from above. Equius said we should reach the Nitram clade by dark, but we're still in the middle of nowhere. I want to make sure we didn't miss it while there was still light."

Swooping down to the ground, Rose appeared in her humanlike form once again, giving Karkat a smile while nodding. "I will continue east for now. This is uncharted territory, and so my topographical mapping software is creating a safe path to traverse in real time, but I am still gathering data as we continue to explore the terrain. Any assistance in determining our location would be appreciated."

Karkat nodded, releasing John's hand slowly and looking over at him and Dave. The engineer was typing one-handed at something, distracted by data in his personal sights, and was quiet for the most part before saying softly, "Don't take too long Karkat, we'll worry about you getting lost."

Frowning a little at the human's teasing tone, Karkat turned and walked ahead a few steps before crouching down and kicking off of the ground hard, riding a wave of gravity up towards the neon moonlight, his dark fur highlighted in violet and vivid green before he disappeared out of sight. Rose looked between the two humans, then chimed softly while pressing a finger to her cheek. "It would be wise to hydrate while we are here, John. You should collect more water from this area once we reach the next stream. This area is a viable source of hydration for you both."

"Right." John said, sighing as he shifted his bag off of his shoulders and reached inside for one of the water bottles. It was still cold from the stream before, the filtration device at the neck glowing blue as he drank from it. He offered it to Dave once he had finished half the bottle, nudging the blonde gently when it took him a few moments to process John had offered him something. "You okay over there? You've been really quiet all day. What have you been working on?"

"Schematics for another weapon. Figured you might need one of your own." Dave replied, taking the bottle gratefully and drinking the rest of it down, breathing loudly behind his mask to catch his breath once he had secured it. "I'm still going over notes and blueprints from Dirk's archives, but it looks like it might be doable. If we can find the correct metals required to withstand the heat of the photon energy that illuminates the blade once it's activated, I can make you something similar to Cherry Bomb." He scratched at the side of his head absently, sliding his gloved hand across his nape and down the side of his neck while rolling his shoulders. "That's gonna be the tricky part. It took Dirk years to perfect it. I'm confident I can do it, given the right workshop environment, but out here…" He shook his head, sighing. "It's going to be a bitch to replicate. We'd have to find materials left over from the ship. Scrap metal, debris, _something_." He handed the empty bottle back to John before he poked at the air for a moment, sharing the hologram map in his sights with the other boy. "There are notes from Dirk about possible locations of debris from the ship's initial impact into the atmosphere, and then again upon impact of the surface, but it's just estimates. None of the other humans ever made it out this far. We're lucky to have a guide to show us where to go, and Rose to keep us out of trouble along the way."

"I do what I can, Dave." Rose cheerily replied, clasping her hands behind her back as she walked ahead of them through the reeds. She faded through them without moving them, her light shining out in scattered beams from within the thicket. John shoved the empty bottle into his bag before securing it across his shoulders once more, reaching out to part the tall grass as he started to follow after her. Dave kept close behind, reaching out and taking John's hand once more, the two boys making eye contact for a brief moment before continuing on. Karkat hadn't returned yet, and time seemed to pass slower in the darkness without him, the two astronauts sticking close together while Rose guided them onwards towards the east.

When John stepped through a thick cluster of grasses and reeds and out into a small clearing he looked up to see Rose was standing before them, her hologram illuminated with neon purple and green moonlight from both of the moons overhead. Her ghostly white appearance gleamed with technicolors where she stood veiled in the mist, the water refracting light and casting a myriad of tiny rainbow auroras around her. It wasn't Rose that caused him to come to a sudden halt, Dave grunting softly as he bumped into John from behind, it was what she was standing before; a great, towering insect. It was standing much taller than the grasses, watching them with rows upon rows of shining eyes, John's breath catching tight in his throat. Dave stared at his rigid back, blinking in confusion for several moments before looking up as well, tensing behind him and tightening his hold on John's hand as the two humans stood very, very still. The creature didn't appear to be moving, its eyes focused on the light given off by the holographic A.I. as Rose stood before it and tilted her head to the side lightly. Those rows of many eyes followed her movements as she swayed first one way, then the other, Rose clearly curious about the creature they'd stumbled upon and intent on gathering data.

The giant insect appeared to be beetle or spider in most aspects; more eyes that John could count, several spindly legs carrying its wide, rounded body above the grasses so the tallest reeds just barely brushed its concave underbelly. It was spiny and jagged with hooked claws traveling up the lengths of its segmented legs, curved feelers stretching out towards Rose and hovering in the air around her, undoubtedly trying to determine where exactly her glowing was originating from. She would have no mass, no scent, just a beacon of softly glowing rainbow light in the thick, dense fog and surrounding darkness.

"Rose..." John whispered softly, Dave taking a slow step backwards, tugging John gently as he went, "Can you dim your output so it will leave us alone…?"

The A.I. was already reacting as he spoke, reaching out one of her hands and gliding it across the tip of the feeler inspecting her, highlighting its carapace and underbelly with her glow as she took a step forward. "Do not worry, John. This creature is not carnivorous. It appears to possess only the necessary means to extract nutrients from water, soil, and local plantlife." She glanced back at the humans, who were watching her in awe. "I am updating the shared archives as we speak. This is the first recorded interaction with an alien arthropod in this region, and will prove to be very exclusive research data."

The insect chittered and flexed its feelers through Rose's light, her hologram flickering for a moment before resuming its typical shape, the A.I. watching the creature with interest and walking closer to inspect one of its spiny legs. Dave exhaled shakily and stepped past John a bit, one hand on the hilt of his katana as he stepped closer. "You sure about that, darlin'? I'd rather we not get eaten tonight if I can help it…"

"I am quite certain, Dave." She slowly walked around the side of the creature, her light illuminating its body as she weaved between its legs and reached up to glide fingertips against its underbelly. "Approach slowly, let one of the feelers inspect you. It is just as curious about you as you are of it. Do not let its size intimidate you."

John watched the giant insect reach out to poke at Dave, the blonde going still and allowing it to trace across his bodysuit, touch against his hair, then it withdrew and returned its attention to Rose, entranced by her light. John stepped closer as well, following after Dave as the engineer carefully stepped around the insect, avoiding its legs as it turned and chittered, its rows of eyes following Rose and ignoring the two humans now behind it. Dave and John took the opportunity to press ahead through the grasses while it was otherwise preoccupied, leaving Rose behind to investigate however she liked, the boys holding hands tightly as they walked on blindly through the dark. Dave was the first to speak up. "Y'know I'd feel a hell of a lot better if Karkat was here with us right now. I can't see shit through this fog, and this grass must be seven feet tall easy..." His voice was shaking slightly despite his casual words, the other boy seeing right through him.

John smiled softly, squeezing Dave's hand and saying quietly, "I know, Dave. I was scared too."

Rose appeared by their side a moment later, flickering ahead of Dave in the tall grass, holding out her hands and stopping them. John peeked around Dave's side, both astronauts watching her as she held up a finger to her lips, slowly crouching down and dimming her light until it was almost grey against the tall, thick grass surrounding them. They crouched down low to the ground beside her, huddled close together and listening. There were vibrations, coming closer, the sound of grass being pushed aside in multiple directions, several different creatures moving simultaneously through the dark. They chittered back and forth, clicking and walking directly towards them, Dave standing up a bit to take a defensive stance, grabbing the hilt of his katana again once he realized they were surrounded. John stayed crouched close to the ground, looking up and locking eyes with Rose, the A.I. flickering dimly and giving him an apologetic smile.

"It seems I may have underestimated the immediate population surrounding our area and their apparent ability to communicate across far distances. It appears we have entered into an arthropod hive territory within the marsh. It would be unwise for you to move from this position, and I would not advise Dave to draw his blade. The photon light will only attract them and draw them closer." She glanced up at the blonde as she spoke, the boy frowning down at her, still gripping the hilt nervously but hearing her words, nodding sharply. She looked between them both, attempting to make her tone as calm as possible. "Stay here, continue to be very quiet. I will try to lure them away."

Her sprite appeared in the sky high above milliseconds after her last words, the A.I. shining her light down upon them in a brilliant display of pulsing violet and white. Immediately a chorus of insect chittering sounded loudly from a multitude of different locations, spread wide across the foggy grassland, in response to her light. The humans shuddered and pressed closer together, staying as still as they could when the closest great insects shifted position to follow after her. She illuminated the surrounding marshes enough that John could clearly see the shadows of at least a dozen of those beetle-spider creatures, several reaching up with their feelers to chase after her through the dark. While several followed the lure, a few others remained close by, and Dave slowly began walking through the grasses as quietly as he could to away from them, John following right behind. Somehow, despite the fog clouding their sights, they managed to press through the grasses and find another open area leading to a large patch of marshes, much like the ones they had passed through with Karkat before. Dave frowned, tapping his goggles and clicked his teeth against his tongue. "I can't get a good reading, everything around here is so cool and temperate, it's all practically the same damn shade of blue."

John wasn't having much luck either, and he was getting an uneasy feeling staring out across the marshes. Some of the pools they had walked past before with Karkat had looked rather deep. Would they be able to walk through the shallow patches without a misstep? Still holding his katana hilt with one hand, Dave kept hold of John's hand with the other, and the two boys slowly began walking through the soggy marsh one step at a time. About half-way across the large expanse of wetland, Dave came to a halt, looking out across a wide deep pool, cursing under his breath. John looked around him, realizing they were stuck, sighing shakily to calm his nerves before speaking up quietly. "It's alright, we'll find a way around. Let's backtrack and see if we can find a path that veers to the side. I'll lead this time, okay? Just follow me…"

Dave nodded, turning to face John and freezing at something over his shoulder, his eyes wide. "Oh _fuck_ …" John tightened his grip on Dave's hand as he slowly began turning around, but Dave stopped him, keeping him facing towards his chest. "John just. Trust me on this, okay? Stay right where you are, keep very still." John felt a shudder pass up his spine, his eyes trained on Dave's as the engineer kept a firm hold on him, the blonde instinctively backing away a step but finding there was nowhere to go. A giant pool behind him, and something unknown behind John… They were trapped, alone in the dark without Karkat or Rose to help them.

John reached up slowly, intent on tapping his sights to at least _see_ what Dave was looking at, and then suddenly he felt a strange pressure against his back, expanding and growing steadily more firm as it pressed along his spine. That strange pressure slid up towards his shoulders at first, causing the hairs on the back of his nape to stand on end, then slowly the pressure began gliding down the length of his frame to the curve of his lower back, trailing down the armored spine of his bodysuit one ridged segment at a time. It felt like warm, wet pressure, the sensation causing him to feel unsettled in a way he couldn't quite describe, though the outline of that searching pressure was not unlike that of a handprint. Was it a handprint? Could this possibly be a Fein? John looked up again, Dave's face tense, his expression unreadable, clearly fighting hard not making any sound. Slowly John felt that pressure shift and grow, wrapping around his chest and waist and pulling him backwards, pulling his hand away from Dave's in adrenaline-induced slow motion. John could feel panic rise up in sharp waves as their fingers slowly disconnected, bile at the back of his throat as he cried out sharply, "Dave-!"

The creature behind him chirred and chittered curiously, John trying to remember how to breathe as he felt himself being lifted, pulled into the air and backwards through the darkness, Dave quickly fading out of sight. He closed his eyes, his stomach in his chest, and then after a few minutes of being carried he felt his feet land on solid ground once more. He kept his eyes squeezed shut tightly, trying to remain quiet and still. Maybe if he was lucky, whatever had grabbed him would lose interest. Maybe, just maybe, he would be able to escape and find Dave again in the darkness.

A soft, warm hand pressed against his chest, coaxing him to open his eyes gently with soft, curious chirps. He forced one eye open, trembling as he met eyes with a Fein, surprised to see how petite she was. She was smaller even than Karkat, and John realized this was the first time he had met a female-presenting Fein face to face, thinking back to the pictures within Doctor Harley's personal logs. Even in the dark he could see her shining eyes were a deep rust color, caught somewhere between deep brown and dark cherry-red. This bat appeared to have curly fur compared to the others he had seen before, her dark mahogany mane cascading down her bare shoulders, a dark twist of cloth hugging her curves as she pressed closer to him, her hands sliding up to cup either side of his face, tracing the outlines of his mask and goggles in wonder. When she chirped softly and started to pull the mask away, John gasped and reached up to press his gloved hands over hers, stilling her gently, heart hammering as he glanced up, looking around for Dave. How far had she carried him? The tall grasses looked all the same… He had to get back to him, he had to-

The Fein began speaking in a soft, hushed tone, her voice quivering excitedly with her words. "Tavros, Tavros I've found them. They're here." She said softly, her dark eyes swirling with silver light, glimmering in the darkness, their luminescence fading moments later as she returned her attention to John. She tried to pull his mask off again, but John pushed her away gently, shaking his head, trying not to hyperventilate. He couldn't communicate with her properly like this, and Dave had their extra translators tucked away within his chest compartment. Out here alone without him, John was helpless to make her understand. If she managed to take off his mask, he would suffocate within a few minutes. He had to handle this carefully if he wanted to survive until Karkat or Rose found them.

Hesitantly he raised his voice, calling for the A.I., his words shaky as he spoke. "R-Rose? Hey, I could really use some help here. Are you with me?" There was no response, John frowning and quickly reaching up with one hand to tap at his scanner, trying through their connected chatter link. "Dave? Rose? Can you hear me?" He caught something then, some sound, barely audible and broken with static. Damn it, the fog must be interfering with their communications wavelengths. He felt sick. The little Fein continued watching him, her ears perked towards the sound of his voice, and he tried to offer her a friendly smile while taking her hands gently from his face and bringing them down to his chest, taking a step backwards to put some distance between them. He felt pressure against his spine the moment he did so, that same strange sensation washing over him and wrapping around him in wet coils, John gasping as he felt one ascend to wrap around his neck.

He panicked quickly, reaching up to try to pull whatever it was away, but the coil tightened and John squeaked out a soft yelp, going still while clutching his gloved hands against that large, slimy tendril. The Fein watched him, clicking curiously, not speaking as she hovered before him, taking in his ragged breathing and his wide, dilated eyes, her irises swirling with silver once again. "I'm going back for the other, I'm leaving the first here with-" Her words cut off, the translation not coming through correctly, just chirps and chitters of pure Fein speech, before the connection caught up again. "...did you find the source of the light? The whole hive is in an uproar because of it. We need to find it quickly." John heard no answer, but the Fein smiled at something she heard and continued speaking to herself as she turned to go, jumping effortlessly into the sky and leaving John alone in the dark with whatever creature continued to coil around him. It kept him rooted in place, preventing him from moving any further than the minute slack his panicked breathing would allow. If he understood her correctly, she was going back to find Dave. He only hoped the other boy wouldn't try to fight her when she approached.

-x-x-x-

Karkat's eyes went wide as soon as he saw the giant flash of violet and white light up the sky in the distance, riding the next wave of gravity higher to track the precise location. That had to be Rose, thank _fuck_ he'd finally found her. The fog was so thick he hadn't been able to determine the whereabouts of anything, and the Viridian Sea was much larger than he had originally realized. He'd been flying across the grasslands and marshes for what felt like ages now, not finding the barest hint of the clade that lay somewhere within the center. It made no sense; how could a domed, illuminated clutch not stand out stark against the darkness, regardless of the fog? Unless...it was being concealed somehow. On purpose. Perhaps that was why Horuss had suggested Equius direct them there; if the clade was hidden it would make it nearly impossible for the Makaras and Zahhaks to find, which in turn would keep them safe once they arrived. Finding it themselves however was turning out to be a greater problem than Karkat had anticipated. ' _Due east'_ wasn't exactly the most detailed instructions the beta could have left behind before returning to his clutch, Karkat snorting softly at the thought, frowning. Then again, he was sure Equius did all he could given his limited capacity to assist while remaining undetected. If he had been gone much longer his absence would have been deemed unquestioningly suspicious to his Prima.

Unsure of what else he could do for now, Karkat continued steadily towards Rose's light in the distance. Once reunited with Rose and the humans he would discuss with them their next steps. Realistically all they could do would be keep traveling eastward in hopes of eventually finding the hidden dome. It didn't take long for him to find Rose, the sprite being chased by several giant arthropods, the giant insects chittering wildly as they pursued her. Karkat hovered high above, not wanting to draw too close to the creatures, chirping loudly to get her attention above the excited chorus below. The holosprite flickered up to his location within milliseconds, dimming her light as she circled around his shoulders, Karkat watching as the creatures far below began looking around in confusion, wondering where the weaving light had suddenly disappeared to. Rose was quiet for several long moments, calculating before she began to speak.

"It is good that you have found us, Karkat. I regret that my actions have unintentionally attracted the attention of a local hive. I guided the swarm away from John and Dave's last known location, but I am having a hard time determining where they are now. My mapping software is becoming unstable due to the increasing levels of gravity and atmospheric pressure within the dense, moist air." She flickered a bit, calculating her data before adding, "It would be wise if we located them as soon as possible. The temperature is beginning to drop."

"What? You can't find them?" Karkat asked worriedly, casting his eyes around the dark sea of grasses stretching on endlessly around them. There were low patches here and there where marshes stretched out across the soggy ground, the wetlands melding together with the tall, lush thickets of reeds and grasses to create a labyrinth. The mist was growing colder as the night drew on, the moisture clinging to Karkat's fur giving off a light steam as he shuddered, his body adjusting to the environmental exposure and the steady temperature drop. John and Dave must be getting cold. He growled softly in frustration, the sprite beside him still calculating a possible return trajectory, before Karkat checked the position of the moons above and began heading south-east, hoping to backtrack and find the last known location Rose had been with the humans before.

-x-x-x-

Dave watched in shock as John was pulled backwards, the mass of tentacles clustered behind him swiftly moving back through the tall grasses while drawing him high into the air, then quickly withdrawing out of sight. It had been some sort of _monster_ , something out of a science fiction movie, nothing but slime and countless grasping tentacles stretching out endlessly below three pointed sets of glowing eyes and gleaming double-rowed shark-teeth. It was sort of a mutated octopus, or jellyfish, or both? He couldn't put words to it, the appearance had been too bizarre, but it had been _intelligent_ as it followed them silently through the darkness; watching them, _hunting_ them down, waiting for the right moment to pounce. Dave's hands trembled as he drew his sword from its sheath, flicking the hidden switch in the hilt to activate the photon blade, instantly illuminating the marshes. Bright red light pushed back the surrounding darkness, highlighting the mist and still pools of water nearby in a wide crimson arch of vivid light. He started forward, heart pounding, forcing himself to move, to follow after the _thing_ that had abducted John, but a sudden shadow passed across the diluted moonlight streaming down from above and caused Dave to twist on his heels, bringing his blade up defensively. He wasn't about to let something sneak up from behind again.

For a moment he thought it was Karkat, but as the Fein descended Dave quickly realized it was not a bat he had met before. This bat had _wings_ , large webbings stretched from the grossly extended outer claws of each hand all the way down to his prominent outer talons. A dark length of cloth wrapped around his frame to hide his hips and upper thighs from view, but otherwise he appeared completely devoid of any clothing, his bronze fur bright against the red light given off by Dave's blade. He landed atop the pool of water before the human, sinking only for a moment before something rose out of the depths and elevated him above the water. It was a giant insect, not unlike an armoured centipede, the monstrous invertebrate rising from the deep water and flexing its giant pinchers and feelers. It let out a terrifying, shrill screech that rang out across the grasslands and had Dave recoiling from the sheer force of it, fighting the instinct to drop his sword and cover his ears.

When the creature quieted, it leaned closer towards Dave, gliding through the water on hundreds upon hundreds of segmented prongs, the human staying very still and watching as the Fein stepped down from atop its head and stood opposite the human, clearly unafraid of his presence. He was taller than Dave, though not nearly as tall as Equius, his bronze eyes watched Dave with irises narrowed to slits, stepping closer to him and circling. Dave kept his blade between himself and the Fein defensively, then something in his peripherals caught his attention and he glanced over to see another Fein had appeared, the bat landing quietly on the mossy ground nearby and padding over to them quickly. A small female, her mahogany fur curling around her curvy frame where it peeked out from behind the beaded sarong wrapped around her, her ears perked curiously towards the bright light of his katana.

"There was no light here when I took the first, where it came from I do not know." Her voice was soft, light, her attention turning from Dave to the male Fein beside her. "It feels hot, like fire, does it not?"

"It does." The larger bat rumbled quietly, stepping closer to her and carefully guiding her behind him, protective of her as he directed his attention back to Dave, still speaking to her softly. "I lost sight of the white light, the hive is restless but quieting. Now we must deal with this...thing. As if we didn't already have enough to deal with, given the storm from the pyre to the west..."

The female chirped softly, grabbing the male's arm and tugging gently, the Fein tilting a large pinna towards her before meeting her eyes. "The one I took before, he seemed afraid. Perhaps I was wrong to separate them?" She looked to Dave, her voice quivering lightly as she spoke. "If things were reversed, and they had separated the two of us, I would have reacted similarly. I'm sure you would have too." She nodded towards Dave gingerly, searching her companion's eyes. "He appears defensive, not aggressive. They were running from the hive when they reached this place. Perhaps I should try to communicate with him before you do anything regrettable?"

The larger bat growled softly, flattening his ears as he replied, "No, I don't want you any closer to it. I'm not putting you in danger."

The female frowned, tugging at his arm, again, chirping as she insisted, "We have to try _something_ , I don't want you getting hurt if this altercation can be avoided, Tavros…"

Sighing shakily Dave flicked the photon energy off, the blade returning to its dormant state, the Fein close enough he could see them still despite the fog and darkness, his night-vision sights highlighting their features in the diluted moonlight. Slowly he shifted to return his katana to its sheath, securing it with a soft snap of his wrist, and when he was certain the Fein weren't intent on moving any closer he reached up to retrieve the tube of translators from his chest compartment. He opened it with a soft pop, retrieving one at first, glancing between the two Fein then adding a second to his palm, securing the tube once more before taking a step closer to them both.

The male immediately started growling, baring his fangs, so Dave stopped his approach and turned his head; reaching up and tapping at the illuminated translator over his left ear, showing them the discs he held, then gesturing to the giant ears atop the Fein's stull. He did this several times before the smaller Fein beside the male caught on, chirping softly and trying to step forward, the bronze bat halting her advance with a soft snort. "No, Aradia. It isn't safe."

She twittered and shoved at his arm gently, trying to get around him. "He's trying to communicate with us, Tavros. Let me try."

The bronze bat frowned deeply, turning a bit more towards her, saying softly as he shifted to grasp her hand. "Stay here, please…"

She frowned up at him stubbornly, allowing him to grasp her hand but arguing nonetheless. " _You_ do it then, at least try. Take what he's offering us, it has something to do with auditory communications. Let me see one."

Dave held out his hand, palm flat, the male Fein taking a step closer and carefully picking up both translators, bringing them to the female and allowing her to examine one. She turned it over and over in her hand, ears tilting back and forth before her eyes looked up to meet Dave's and he pointed to his ear, then to hers, nodding slowly. "That's right, little lady. You've got it. Just reach up and press it against your ear. C'mon…"

She exchanged a look with her companion, then mimicked Dave's movements, lifting one of the discs and pressing it to the base of her pinna, chirping softly in surprise when it slid into place and locked against her ear with light pressure. Tavros watched, clearly concerned for her safety, growling softly as the translator began glowing and synchronized with Dave's, the human sighing softly in relief.

"Alright, now we're talkin'." Dave said, offering her a little wave of his gloved palm. "Nice to meetcha, thanks for agreein' to chat with me and all but I would _really_ appreciate it if you took me to wherever John's at now." He watched her intently, waiting for her to reply. "Can you do that for me? Please? I can't reach him on my scanner…"

"He's talking in Fein." She said softly, clearly surprised, her ears twitching and pivoting towards Dave's voice before turning to look up at the other bat, smiling in awe. "Here, listen. This allows you to hear what he's saying, it changes his words into our dialect." She ushered her companion to follow the same steps she had before, but he appeared hesitant, the smaller bat turning to meet eyes with the human watching them, smiling excitedly as she spoke. "What are you called? Can you understand me?"

"Dave, my name's Dave Strider." The astronaut said with a little smile and a nod, taking a step closer to the rust colored bat, "You should be able to understand me now, just as I can understand you." The female glanced between him and the male at her side, tugging his arm until he leaned down to her level and allowed her to fit the translator against his ear, his pinnae standing up tall and wide when he heard Dave's voice in his native tongue. "I need you to take me to John, please? I need to know he's okay."

The bronze bat hesitated a moment, glancing down at the smaller rust bat, and she watched him quietly for several long moments before turning her eyes to Dave, nodding. "Alright. I will take you to him. Come." She pushed up off of the ground in a fluid movement unlike anything he'd seen Karkat or John do before, watching her as she arched up through the dense fog silently, disappearing out of sight. Dave blinked, opening his mouth and exhaling softly when he wasn't sure what to say, looking over and meeting eyes with the large bat still watching him.

He was quiet for a while, watching Dave, then asked in that same low, deep rumble, "Can you fly?"

Dave laughed a bit nervously, trying to feel for the rollercoaster of fluctuating gravity he always felt when suspended mid-air, unable to really get a feel for it as wrecked as his nerves were. "I...sort of? I could use a little help."

The male didn't move for quite some time before he stepped closer to Dave, his eyes level with the Fein's shoulder as those too-long claws reached out and clasped around his forearm, the bat opening his wings wide and watching Dave with an indiscernible expression. He kicked off of the ground with impossible strength, sending them soaring high into the sky, his webbings spreading out wide like a giant sail to balance their quick ascent. Dave inhaled sharply as he felt them twisting mid-air to follow the shifting gravity, the bronze bat quickly reaching the rust colored bat's side and matching her pace, the two dipping low together and soaring across the grasslands in perfect sync. After a short flight they finally dropped down into a small clearing between the grasses, Dave's feet meeting the soggy ground before those elongated, webbed claws released him, the astronaut quickly running across the clearing towards the unholy cluster of tentacles still clinging tightly to John. The creature continued coiling around John and reached out with more tentacles to grasp at Dave, starting to drag him closer, but the female bat chirped loudly and clicked rhythmically at the beast while she and her companion stepped closer, the tendrils slowly withdrawing until both humans were released.

John collapsed to the grass, coughing and reaching up to press a hand against his bruised throat, inhaling deep gulps of air behind his mask, trembling as he tried to catch his breath. Dave was at his side within seconds, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and hugging him tight, whispering soft reassurances and rubbing along his back in slow, heavy passes, John clinging to his chest and shoulder and he sobbed brokenly in relief, "Oh thank god, thank god…"

"You're alright? You aren't hurt?" Dave asked, pulling back and inspecting the other boy, who was coated in a thick layer of slime where he'd been wrapped in coils but appeared otherwise unharmed.

"I'm fine, I-" the dark-headed boy gasped, pressing close to Dave again, "I'm alright, I was just...hyperventilating. I thought...I thought that-"

The female bat stepped over to them gradually, watching and chirping quietly, her ears perked towards John's voice. She spoke up as John continued coughing and sobbing softly, her ears tilted back as she watched them both. "I am sorry to have frightened you. You were not in danger, the hivelings listen well and follow our guidance. I would never have directed them to harm you unnecessarily." She looked towards the other bat who was slowly approaching, adding hesitantly, "At least, not until it was determined beyond any doubt that you were a threat to the hive, or the clade beneath the sea."

"Clade beneath the sea…?" Dave asked, looking over at her. "Are you from the Nitram clade?"

The rust bat's eyes widened a bit and she glanced towards her companion nearby, the male frowning as he once again put himself between her and the two humans still crouched against the ground below. "What exactly are you? What are you doing here?"

"We're...human…" John coughed out softly, rubbing his throat and looking up to meet the larger bat's narrowed eyes. "We were told to seek out the Nitrams, that it would be safe there." Dave rubbed his back gently, watching him with concern as he tried to speak again, "We are running from the Makaras-"

"Who sent you?" The bronze bat growled, taking another step forward and baring his fangs as he spoke, looming over them and spreading his wings wide. "If this is some kind of _trick_ , some _illusion_ to convince us to guide you to the clade, I will show you no mercy-"

Blinding light erupted between the humans and bats, the Fein recoiling with startled cries and leaping backwards into the air, Rose manifesting into her humanlike form and turning to look down at Dave and John with a bright smile, Karkat landing roughly beside her. He let out a threatening snarl, advancing on the two Fein hovering close by, snapping his fangs as he glowered at them. "What the _fuck_ kind of welcome is _that_! I should have _never_ trusted Equius to send us somewhere safe, that damn _idiot_ never knows what the hell he's doing!" He kicked off of the ground, hovering in the air before the larger male who opened his mouth and displayed his much larger set of fangs threateningly, his webbings spread wide to shield the small female behind him. "You! You're a Nitram, aren't you? Horuss Zahhak sent us!" He snapped his fangs again, hackles raised and claws extended, ready to fight if needed. "Your Prima should know him well."

The bronze bat flicked his pinnae towards the rouge bat before him, slowly quieting his growls and frowning down at him, exhaling audibly. "Horuss sent you?"

Karkat continued growling, forcing out a pronounced, " _Yes_." He kept growling, watching the older male, not backing down from his challenge.

They stared down one another for several long moments, before the rust bat peered out from behind her companion's wing, chirping curiously and sniffing the air. "You're...omega, aren't you?" Karkat blinked over at her, dipping his ears back a bit and exhaling silently to quiet his growls, retracting his extended claws and releasing some of the tension in his shoulders as she glided gingerly closer, taking a moment to sniff the air as well. The two smaller bats searched one another's eyes curiously, the larger Fein watching them hovering close by, pinnae flicking irritably as he witnessed their exchange. Finally he relented, descending to the ground once more, touching down a distance away from the humans and the glowing A.I. beside them. He crossed his arms over his chest, keeping an eye on the smaller bats as they talked, eyeing the humans warily as they got to their feet, Rose keeping close by and watching the bronze bat observing them, neither making any move to approach.

"My nameright is Aradia." She said softly, drifting closer and offering Karkat a friendly smile. "I am youngest heiress of the Medigo clan to the east, though I spend most of my time away from my clade, guarding the sea with my palemate, Tavros."

Karkat glanced down at the bronze bat nearby, frowning lightly. "That Alpha is your moirail?"

She nodded cheerily, reaching over and brushing her fingertips against Karkat's hand gently, the other omega allowing her to do so, looking to her once more with mild interest. "You're a rouge, I've never seen your color before. It's exquisite! Why aren't you in High Society?"

Karkat shifted uneasily beneath her gaze, looking away and nodding towards the humans nearby, who were waiting, watching, wondering what to do next. "Those two, they're human. They recently emerged from the ruins in waste. I…" he hesitated, swallowing thickly, "I am outcast. I discovered them, sheltered them as well as I could, and they in turn sheltered me." He didn't meet her eyes as he continued speaking, pulling away from her touch. "The one with red irises like mine, he fought against Gamzee Makara, to protect me. He killed Gamzee, defeated him in combat." He glanced towards the Alpha nearby, who was listening to his words intently. "I witnessed this. It is the reason why they have lit the pyre."

"You're outcast?" Aradia asked softly, confusion in her tone. "Were you part of the Makara clan?"

Karkat didn't answer her, descending to Dave's side and allowing John to reach out and pull him closer, the shaky human still crying quietly, shellshocked from being grabbed and bound by the hiveling. Karkat chirped softly and wrapped his arm around John as the human shuddered against him, Karkat nuzzling against his cheek and breathing mask lightly, offering what comfort he could, Dave turning to look towards the other two Fein that were speaking together quietly on the other side of the clearing, their voices hushed. "Doesn't look to me like we're gonna to be gettin' any help from them, Karkat…" He reached up and rubbed at the back of his head, his expression strained as he met the Fein's eyes. "What should we do…?"

"Wait, just...give them a few moments to process things. This entire situation is highly unusual for all of us." He searched the human's eyes as he spoke. "We are trespassing in their territory, asking for sanctuary without offering anything in return, save our gratitude. I would be wary of outsiders in my territory as well, but knowing I am outcast, and knowing you killed the Makara heir..." Karkat sighed softly, voice fading, returning his attention to the boy in his arms. He soothed him, crooning soft and low as he slowly carded his fingers through John's dark hair, kneading lightly with his fingertips, careful of his claws. "It's okay John, I promise. I won't leave you again. I won't."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry...I'm just…" He hiccuped softly, shaking his head, Dave exhaling softly through his nose and reaching over to rub along John's back as well, squeezing his hand as he pressed closer to the younger boy.

"Don't apologize, sweetheart. It's alright to be scared after experiencing something that. I couldn't imagine being snatched up like that without warning. It was terrifying enough being left alone in the dark once you were gone." John nodded slowly, blinking away the tears gathered in his dark lashes behind his foggy goggles, trying to steady his breathing as he slowly calmed down.

Karkat continued his soft vocalizations, crooning and twittering while petting slowly through John's hair, Dave rubbing his back and whispering soft reassurances until finally John let out a shaky, wet breath and sniffed, looking between them with teary eyes but no longer actively crying. "Thank you, I...I'm sorry I freaked out like that."

"Shh, don't worry about that…" Dave said quietly, bumping his forehead to John's temple lightly, Karkat nodding and letting out a soft chirp.

"I should be the one apologizing, for leaving you two alone for so long. This place is a labyrinth, everything looks the same from above…"

Dave sighed exaggeratedly, saying in a teasing tone, "Karkat you had _one_ job, and that was to _not_ get lost while you were out exploring! Some tour guide you are…"

Karkat frowned and tilted his ears to the side, snapping his fangs lightly as he growled at the human, "Well next time we'll be sure to let _you_ do the surveying, Dave! Surely _you_ must be able to do _such_ a splendid job compared to my sorry ass attempt!"

Dave grinned down at him, John laughing brightly and shoving both of them gently, "Alright alright, knock it off you two. We have other things to worry about right now." He sniffed again, blinking a few times to clear his vision before looking over at Rose who was still watching the bats in the distance while they continued talking back and forth. "What is it, Rose? Can you make out what they're saying?"

She hesitated a moment before responding, still listening to them argue back and forth. "They have concerns around taking us anywhere close to the clade. It is hidden underground, somewhere not far from here, concealed beneath the tall grasses." She continued speaking to them, not moving her gaze from the two bats. "The female rust is Aradia Megido. The male bronze is Tavros Nitram. He is acting Prima of the clade beneath the sea while his elder brother Rufioh Nitram lives within High Society." She paused again, assessing and summarizing her findings with the information she had been provided thus far. "It appears they have further concerns with Karkat's association with the Makaras, whether he is truly an outcast or a spy sent to infiltrate their ranks. The Nitrams are hosting...a rebellion of some kind against High Society. Rufioh has travelled there under the guise of friendship, when in truth he is collecting information needed to ensure the next insurrection against the Empress is successful." Her hologram flickered lightly for a moment before she turned to look at the boys gathered behind her, adding succinctly, "The past two insurrections have failed. Bringing you into their inner sanctum invites great risk to the Fein hiding there from the Highblood and Empress while the Rebellion continues to gather more members and acquire the numbers necessary to rise to power." She looked to Karkat, the Fein perking his ears towards her as she met his eyes. "I believe it would be wise to disclose the nature of your banishment to them, to ease their minds." She looked to Dave next. "Perhaps...showing them playback of your encounter with Gamzee would also be sufficient evidence to prove your intentions are truthful?"

John watched the bats on the other side of the clearing as they both went silent, then the bronze bat started walking closer, the rust following slowly behind. As he drew closer Rose stepped to the side, allowing him access to speak to Karkat and the humans directly, the larger bat eyeing her curiously before speaking to the smaller Fein before him. "You say these...humans are here seeking shelter, that this one," he gestured to Dave, "fought against Gamzee Makara and _won_." He paused for a moment, narrowing his eyes a bit. "I find no other logical explanation as to why the Makaras lit their ritual pyre unless one of the heirs was truly dead. That rite is sacred to their religion and they would not brew such a storm for anyone other than one of the fallen heirs."

Karkat nodded slowly, tilting his pinnae towards the Alpha. "I have no reason to lie. Why would I risk it? A lone omega, trying to enter your clade under false pretenses? That's a death sentence. I'm not that stupid."

Tavros hummed softly, amused at his statement. "No, perhaps not." His eyes flicked down to Karkat's injury on his neck, eyeing the healing bite mark pointedly, the omega tensing and growling softly, the bronze returning his eyes to the smaller bat's. "Come. I will show you the way to the dome. I invite you now only because you understand the risk. If I sense any of you are a threat, Fein or human, I will kill you all without hesitation. Do you understand?"

Karkat nodded, his expression sharp as he snorted, glaring up at the Alpha. "We understand." The bronze turned his eyes towards John and Dave, the two humans tensing a bit under the intensity of his gaze but nodding in succession, each voicing their understanding.

"We have no objections. We aren't hiding anything." John said softly, shivering a bit against Dave, the blonde hugging him tighter against his side.

"You're in charge, boss. We're not gonna do anything stupid." He looked to Karkat before glancing back to the larger bat. "Trust me, after the past couple of nights we've had, we'd much rather have a big guy like you on our side. Need all the allies we can get."

"Allies?" The bronze chortled, clearly amused, letting out a deep sigh as he turned and looked to his small companion who was waiting close by. She stepped closer and pressed under his arm against his pliant webbing as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, the female chirping softly and looking up at him with a hesitant smile.

"We're taking them?" she asked, her voice light, soft expression barely hiding her excitement.

"It appears so." He turned away, kicking off from the ground and taking flight, soaring up through the dense fog and out of sight, calling back down to her, "Let's go."

Aradia smiled and reached out for John, offering the human her small hand. He watched her carefully, Dave and Karkat ready to intervene, but the astronaut stepped forward and allowed her to grasp his hand, the petite omega tugging him gently into the air. "Follow me, I'll fly slow." She hovered in the fluctuating gravity, Karkat taking Dave's hand and pulling him into the air as well, the Fein tugging their respective humans up into the night sky beyond the fog, high above where Karkat had flown before. Out here the air was open and endless, stretching far and wide under the auroras and neon moonlight. There were no signs of the giant avians of the jungle canopy living anywhere within the grasslands, and it appeared the territory on ground level as well as high above all belonged to the Nitrams. It was breathtaking, John tightening his hold on Aradia's hand while the bat guided him forward, the small female chirping and smiling as she rolled onto her back and took both of his hands, lifting John above her so his back was to the moons and she was gliding fluidly in the air beneath him.

She watched him for a lingering moment before saying softly, "I am sorry, for before. For frightening you. Will you try to forgive me?" She lowered her ears a bit, offering her neck in a sign of submission, slowly drawing the human closer. "You can scent me, if you'd like. Please accept my apology. Let us begin anew, as if the unpleasantness before never occurred." She watched him with bright eyes, her deep, rust hued irises shining like dark cherries beneath the moonlight. "I wish to become close with you, to learn more about you and your species. Humans have not appeared here since long before I was born, I have heard only stories in passing from clan elders." She traced his gloved fingers, her eyes drifting across his bodysuit, taking in every detail with wonder. "I never dreamed, not in my wildest imaginings, that I would encounter an alien, living and breathing, in my lifetime." She tilted her head slightly, offering her neck again. "I have caused you distress upon our first meeting. This is my way of offering friendship, and penance. If it would please you."

"I…" John blinked down at her, amazed at her offer. Karkat had never mentioned this part of scenting, a Fein potentially offering their neck as an apology, but the human laughed nervously and smiled down at her, shaking his head. "It's alright, really. Thank you for apologizing. I...I'm fine, you don't have to do that."

She twittered and smiled up at him, leaning closer and pressing her button nose to his forehead, breathing against his dark hair as it was swept back and forth against the wind, John listening to the soft purr rumbling in her chest. Content with his reply, she turned back again to peer down below, then tugged him along after her as she started to descend through the thick clouds of fog, John glancing back to see Karkat and Dave following right behind. The rouge bat was scowling, a clear blush across his cheeks, probably originating from something Dave had said given the blonde's impish smile. He'd have to ask about that later, wondering if it had something to do with Karkat watching Aradia speak with him, the human returning his sights to the ground below as the bat holding onto him guided him smoothly to the lush grass of an open field, touching down lightly once more.

There was a towering mound of overgrowth rising from the ground in the middle of the field, Tavros already walking towards it. It was...strangely out of place amongst the endless stretches of grasslands and marshes surrounding it, and thickly veiled in fog so dense John couldn't quite make out the top. He quickly realized the longer he stared at it that it was actually a giant cloaked dome, concealed from above in all aspects. It was only until at ground level standing directly before the mound that it could be discerned to be anything other than a large, rounded hill. As they continued their approach, several Fein came out of the mist and greeted them, lowering their ears and bowing their heads as Tavros passed, the bronze stopping at the entrance between two towering thickets of reeds before glancing back at the newcomers following after him. Aradia stepped up to his side, passing him with John in tow, Karkat and Dave following after her.

Once through the thicket the dense reeds opened up into a giant vaulted space, bright lights illuminated the interior of the dome. Glowing orbs were crafted into tall, wooden arches above dirt pathways lined with flickering lanterns, countless more orb lights hanging from the boughs of the tall trees lining the interior of the dome, resembling stars. Hundreds of tiny insects akin to beetles and moths fluttered across the glittering faux sky overhead between the towering boughs of the illuminated trees, buzzing and circling as they filled the air with pleasant humming. Beyond that sound, John could make out voices, lots of voices, Fein gathered together in clusters around fires and resting beneath trees. Tall wooden structures were spaced out around the outer circle; watchtowers and tall gates. Various domestic and community buildings appeared further towards the center of the dome as they continued walking through the lush clearing, more and more Fein gathered together within the residential area. There was a large bubbling spring near the center, cascading down a series of smooth stones to gather in a giant basin of fresh water at the heart of the inner sanctum. Several tiny bats were playing along the shallows, chirping and splashing one another while other Fein nearby tended to laundry. Another group close by gathered together around baskets of produce, washing fruits and vegetables in the cool water. There were other bats on the opposite side of the basin who appeared to be fishing, diving through the waters to capture their prey with practiced efficiency and cooking the aquatic creatures on the fires nearby, most of their catch resembling small crustaceans, akin to crabs and crawfish, the scent of fresh meat and spices filling the air.

This felt like...a home. An alien community not so unlike the communities on the colonies, or on Earth. It wasn't what John had been expecting. It was so much more, so much _better_. He looked over his shoulder at Dave, catching his eyes, the blonde sharing his wide, amazed smile. Karkat's eyes were wide as he looked around as well, appearing to share in their astounded disbelief. This clan must be vastly different than those he had known before. John's expression softened as he watched the rouge bat, then he turned towards the sound of Tavros' voice as the large Fein spoke. The bronze bat was standing at the edge of a large ring of wooden structures resembling small houses, Fein of every imaginable variation gathering around him, standing beside and behind him, creating a large ring of bats and listening intently to his words. He flicked an ear to the side, turning to gesture to John, Dave, and Karkat, before continuing on in his deep, rumbling tone, Aradia squeezing his hand reassuringly as her palemate continued to speak to those surrounding him. When it seemed he had relayed all the information he had to share, the Fein gathered around all nodded and began talking amongst themselves, Tavros turning back to walk to Aradia's side, the rust bat smiling up at him as he reached down and pet between her ears, the female crooning up at him softly.

He met John's eyes for a moment before glancing between him and Dave, then his bronze irises shifted, settling finally on Karkat. The Fein exchanged a long look before Karkat dipped his ears respectfully to the acting Prima, and Tavros exhaled slowly, his expression surprisingly soft at Karkat's submission. He sighed deeply, relaxing the tension from his shoulders, and then said to the three newcomers watching him in the warmest tone he had mustered all night, "Welcome to the Rebellion. I will show you to a place where you can rest."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! More to come!


	12. Disquiet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is explicit.

John eyed the A.I. warily, glancing over at Dave before returning his blue eyes to her electric violet. "You're _sure_ , Rose?"

"Affirmative, Captain." She clasped her hands behind her back, smiling wide. "You can see within your own sights as well if you would like to verify, but I assure you there are no miscalculations." She chimed excitedly, nodding her head. "The air here is breathable. You can remove your mask while within the dome."

Dave was still typing, analyzing the data entries Rose had gathered as she explored their new surroundings. "So the air, the water, the flora and fauna... _everything…_ "

"It is all safe. All of it." She nodded again, tilting her head slightly as she spoke to him in a calm, soothing tone, trying to assuage his lingering fears. "You may rest here as you like. The fresh produce grown in the local gardens is edible, as are the creatures within the spring. The water is clear of any notable toxins, and the oxygen supply is bountiful."

"It's true. All of it. It's comparable to Earth, some of the readings are better than the _colonies_ even…" Dave sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair before beginning to strip off his protective gear, starting first with his gloves. John watched him apprehensively, glancing towards the entrance of the den. Karkat was there, standing in the entryway with Aradia and Tavros, their voices hushed as they chittered back and forth, Aradia glancing up when she noticed John was watching them. She gave him a bright smile, holding up her hand and waving lightly, blinking in surprise and walking closer to them, watching Dave curiously.

John turned as he heard Dave take a deep gasp of air, noting his goggles and breathing mask were in hand as the blonde blinked and looked around the interior of the den. It was a wooden structure insulated with woven reeds and grasses, a fire-pit in the center with smoke curling up towards the opening in the reeds above. Dave took a few experimental breaths, tapping his scanner to bring up his holovisor, monitoring his vitals and nodding to himself at the readings. "Yeah, looks good. All of it reads normal." He glanced over at John with a wide grin as he started unzipping his bodysuit, shoving it down to his waist and rolling his shoulders with a deep groan as he twisted and flexed. "Damn, I could go for some of that spiced crab, or whatever the hell they were cooking out there. Smells like alien surf 'n turf if you ask me."

Aradia stepped over to Dave's side, her dark eyes wide with wonder as she chirped and leaned closer to the human, reaching out to touch one of his exposed arms now that he had peeled back his suit. Her ears were perked excitedly, and she looked back at Karkat and Tavros as they approached. Her eyes met her palemate's and she twittered softly, "They can join us, can't they? Can I show them around the sanctum?"

Tavros tilted one of his large pinna to the side, thinking, then glanced down at Karkat as he spoke. "You said you haven't eaten anything since leaving the ruins? You must be exhausted, having travelled all day and most of the night without rest."

Karkat shifted beneath his gaze, trying not to appear uneasy, but he was clearly uncomfortable with how close the Alpha had drawn, and how intently he kept the rouge bat within his sights. "I can hunt for myself." He said softly, tilting his ears back a bit. "If you would agree to provide for them, I would be in your debt."

Tavros watched him for a long moment, then exhaled softly through his nose, his expression soft. "You aren't an outcast here. There are others who have been exiled that have become a part of the Rebellion. You do not need to distance yourself from me, or any of the others dwelling within these walls." He stepped back a bit, turning to walk towards the entrance of the den, calling back over his shoulder to Aradia, "Do what you like, I will relay our new knowledge to the elders. I will find you when I am finished."

Aradia grinned broadly and chirped a happy farewell as he disappeared out of sight, turning once more to Dave and tugging at his arm gently, the human lifting it and allowing her to trace her claw-tips across his pale skin. "You're...smooth! So smooth beneath your armour!" She looked to John as well, perking her ears expectantly. "You stopped me before, when I tried to remove your face coverings," she pointed to the mask Dave held, then gestured to the gear still across the other astronaut's face, "but you can remove them now?"

John glanced over at Karkat as the bat approached, the Fein frowning lightly and looking between him and Dave. "Is it safe for you here?"

Dave nodded, letting his mask and goggles drop beside the rucksack and duffel he had already removed before, crouching down to unclasp his boots while saying to his human companion, "Trust me John. Rose is right. We're good here." He shrugged out of his boots, kicking them to the side and sitting down against the ground with a soft grunt, reclining back on his palms. "Try to relax a bit. We made it." He grinned up at the other human, then looked over at Aradia. "We need to get something to eat in our systems and crash. It's been a long trip." He huffed softly, reaching up and clicking away at invisible keys, muttering to himself more so than to anyone else, "I'm starting to feel sick again now that the adrenaline's gone. Bleh."

John could relate to that. He sighed, trying to steady his nerves, then looked to Rose who was still smiling at him patiently, nodding as he reached up and removed first his goggles, then his mask, inhaling and finding the air pleasantly fresh and clean. It reminded him of being out in the mountains, hiking empty trails far away from the smog of the city. It was earthy with rich soil, musky dirt floors and dried reeds, and smouldering wood within the firepit. He breathed steadily for a few long moments before the tension melted from his shoulders and he smiled over at Karkat, the bat watching him with a tense expression. He reached over, touching his companion's shoulder and squeezing gently. "Yeah, yeah it's good. I'm good. Just...sore. I could use some help getting out of this thing…"

Karkat shifted to help John whenever the astronaut indicated he needed assistance, the Fein gingerly following his instructions and peeling back his bodysuit down to his waist, mirroring the actions Dave had taken before. Karkat frowned, warbling softly as he reached out and brushed his fingerpads across John's upper arm and shoulder, then finally met the swollen bruise around his neck. John winced, inhaling sharply even from that light pressure, and Aradia stepped over to Karkat's side, examining the bright purple marks across John's skin, her brow arched with concern. Dave's typing had fallen silent, the engineer digging through the duffel and tossing Karkat the medicinal salve jar before resuming typing again, John taking it from the bat and uncapping the lid, smearing some of the tonic across his fingers before bringing it to his taut throat.

"The hiveling did this..." Aradia said softly, her ears dipping back as she spoke. "I am sorry, Alpha. I did not mean to do this. Human bodies are more delicate than Fein. I did not know."

Karkat's eyes dilated a bit as she spoke, nearly flinching when Aradia called John an 'Alpha'. John looked to the rouge bat silently, Karkat catching his eyes for a moment before reaching for the salve jar, dipping his fingers in as well as he could with his claws and bringing more of the thick, glossy medicine to John's neck. There was a heavy silence in the air for a few long moments before John spoke, his blue eyes on Aradia's worried rust. "It's alright, Aradia. I'm fine. It will heal." The small Fein didn't seem convinced, chirring softly as she searched his eyes, clearly upset. He tried again, making his voice softer, offering her a little smile. "You don't have to worry, really. I'll be fine. I promise."

Slowly she lifted her ears, looking to Karkat who was silent and tense, the smaller omega taking a few steps backwards away from them and bowing her head a bit. "I will gather silks for you to wear while you rest. I will return shortly." She quickly stepped out of sight, leaving the boys alone in silence. Dave's fingertips clicked against invisible keys as he worked on something within his sights, Karkat and John meeting one another's eyes briefly though neither of them chose to speak. 

Both boys continued their light movements, spreading salve across John's bruised skin, the human sighing in relief as he felt the tonic begin to heal, swallowing against the dull burn. John didn't notice at first, but slowly he could make out Karkat was trembling, and he reached out and gently wrapped his fingers around the bat's forearm, stilling his movements as he spoke. "Hey, it's alright Karkat. I'm okay…"

His ears flicked irritably, his face twisting into something akin to regret. "I left you alone out there. You got hurt because of me." His voice was soft, broken. It twisted something inside of John's chest, Dave looking up and frowning lightly before sighing and pushing himself back up off the ground. He padded over to them across the smooth dirt floor, reaching out and tugging Karkat slowly away from John, but keeping close enough that the bat was still within reach of them both.

The blonde looked down at the Fein, but Karkat kept his eyes downcast, Dave reaching up and guiding his face up gently. "Hey. Look at me. Karkat." The Fein shivered and exhaled shakily, slowly meeting Dave's eyes. The blonde watched him for a long moment, then leaned down and kissed him, lips moving against Karkat's slowly. The bat exhaled sharply in surprise, but made no move to pull away. John watched them, feeling a wave of heat rush up his spine, his breath catching in his throat. Dave pulled back a moment later, searching the Fein's wide eyes, pressing their foreheads together and whispering, "You're _amazing_. You did _everything_ you could to help us. You can't blame yourself for what happened." He knocked their foreheads together gently, adding on, "You have to trust us, trust in John." He looked to the dark-headed human, giving him a gentle smile. "You gotta know by now this kid's a lot tougher than he looks."

John arched his brow, laughing softly, taking a step forward and finding Karkat's hand, the Fein looking over at him, still trembling lightly. "You know I trust you, more than anything, don't you?" He traced his thumb against the back of Karkat's hand, squeezing his fingers reassuringly. "I want you to trust me, and trust Dave too. We're in this together, right?"

The bat watched him silently for a moment, then nodded, his eyes gleaming with wetness as he ducked his head. "Yeah, yeah I know that. I know."

John looked over at Dave, the blonde nodding and letting Karkat go, the other human wrapping his arms around the Fein instead, tugging him close. Karkat chirped softly and shifted to press his face against John's neck gingerly, careful of his bruise, the human shushing him gently and wrapping his arms around Karkat's shoulders while Dave rubbed his upper back. The two humans stayed like that, pressing close and whispering soft reassurances as the bat cried quietly against John's neck.

-x-x-x-

Karkat wasn't sure if he remembered ever being so exhausted before. He felt rather numb after releasing all his pent up emotions, his eyes tired from crying. John and Dave stayed close beside him all the while, making sure he was okay. When Aradia returned she brought with her several bundles of soft, embroidered fabric and a basket of fresh produce and meat. They gathered around the fire at the center of the den, Aradia leaving once more to fetch a large wash basin and fresh water from the spring, slowly filling it one vase at a time until it was nearly full. She left them again after saying farewell for the night, Karkat relieved once they were alone again without her. The omega seemed friendly enough, but something about her unsettled him. She reminded him of how Kankri was, when he had first become flushed for Kurloz; too trusting, too naive. As if she knew nothing of the world.

The basin warmed slowly by the fire, steam beginning to curl from the surface of the water when it was ready. Dave bathed first, soaking in the warm water and scrubbing his skin and hair with the soaproot Aradia had left for them, the boy reaching over the lip of the tub and taking bites of meat between washing. John bathed next, washing away the slime left behind from the hiveling and scrubbing his hair twice to be sure it wasn't sticky before he rinsed and grabbed something to eat.

They filled themselves with sweet fruits and succulent meats, taking their time and relaxing by the fire in the silk sarongs Aradia had crafted for them. The soft cloth was woven together by hand in flowing swaths of fabric, tightened with knots and twists, draped across their frames loosely in cascading sheets of embroidered canvas. Karkat couldn't really find an appetite, but eventually John coaxed him to eat, the bat picking up a large fruit he had never seen before and taking a tentative bite. It was sweet and juicy, and had a sour aftertaste, Karkat eating slowly while looking from John to Dave, the two humans exchanging soft words, stories from their trips to space. Karkat barely heard them. He just wanted to sleep.

He must have dozed off beside the fire, because he jolted awake as he was lifted, chirping in distress for just a moment before warm hands soothed through his fur, petting between his ears and shushing him gently. Dave was holding him, carrying him to bed, and John was whispering to him softly, telling him he was safe. They curled up together atop the pile of blankets layered on top of a thick grass bedding, the fabrics plush and warm. Dave was behind him, pressed against his back, and John's chest was pressed against his cheek, Karkat's eyes slowly closing again as soundless darkness pulled him back into the deep.

He wasn't sure how long he slept, but when he awoke the space behind him was empty, and he was snuggled up against John's side, an arm draped across his middle while the dark-headed boy breathed deeply beside him in sleep. He could hear Dave's voice nearby, and a softer voice, Aradia. They were out in the center of the den, sitting together next to the fire pit. Karkat could make out their shadows against the far wall, the Fein sitting close enough to share the same space as her new human friend, her ears twitching towards his voice happily. He wasn't sure what they were talking about, but Dave's voice was soft and deep, and it lulled Karkat quickly back into light slumber. He exhaled softly and relaxed again at John's side, nuzzling into his chest and breathing in his scent while closing his eyes. When he awoke again it was daylight, and Dave was crawling back into the pile, shifting against the blankets to reclaim his place at Karkat's side, snuggling up to him and smiling as he kissed his shoulder gently. "Hey there, you get some good sleep?"

"Hmm…yeah..." Karkat mumbled sleepily, blinking slowly and stretching out a bit to flex his sore muscles. He relaxed again, looking up at Dave and searching his eyes, the blonde propping his cheek against his palm and petting along Karkat's side slowly. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but he just sighed softly instead, leaning down and resting against the Fein's shoulder while closing his eyes, keeping Karkat close.

John awoke soon after, rolling over and smiling sleepily at seeing Karkat was awake, pressing closer and nuzzling into his soft fur. He breathed steadily against his cheek while carding his long fingers gently through the Fein's rouge fur, yawning a bit and huffing as he closed his eyes sleepily. He didn't speak for a while, content to lay against him and share his warmth, but then Dave exhaled softly and blinked open his eyes again, reaching up and finding John's hand, the two humans sharing a glance and lacing their fingers together over Karkat's chest. The Fein warbled softly, nuzzling against both of them, Dave's chuckle and John's soft laughter filling him to the brim with warmth.

Aradia eventually came to check on them again, bringing more meat and fresh bread. She busied herself emptying the wash basin and setting it just outside the entryway, upside-down to dry, humming softly as she tidied up after them then returned with a tall jug of crisp spring water. Dave eventually got out of bed to talk to her again, the little rust bat beaming up at him as he sat down beside the fire and asked her about day to day things, sharing a friendly, exploratory conversation about their respective species. John yawned again and stretched, snuggling with Karkat for a while longer before eventually getting out of bed as well, his stomach rumbling faintly as he beckoned Karkat to come along with him, taking a seat at the fire next to Dave. Karkat came to his side, watching the humans as they ate and chatted back and forth with Aradia, still feeling uneasy around her but keeping it to himself.

He felt better now that he had rested, and his appetite had returned, the bat wasting no time in taking several different fruits from the basket and trying them one at a time. He found the small, pink fruits were the sweetest, and the bumpy, purple fruits with black juices were tart and rich against his palate, tingling against his tongue. They were exotic, unlike anything he had ever tasted even at the trade markets he'd been to with Kankri before. It made him think of the life he had when he was young, when he and Kankri had been alone, before the Highblood had found them. It also made him focus on the life he was making now, after leaving behind everything he had ever known. It felt surreal, experiencing such a drastic change. This place was unlike anything he could have imagined, this clade's dynamics so different from the traditional beliefs that had been thrust upon him before becoming outcast. Aradia was an experience unlike any he had expected, that was certain. He still couldn't quite pinpoint exactly what about her unnerved him so.

Eventually, once they had all hydrated and eaten their fill, the omega stood to her feet and clapped her hands together excitedly, her eyes shining bright. "Oh! That reminds me! Your other companion, Rose! She has been most helpful educating our elders on the parasite that has been invading our groves near the edge of the dome." She made a skittering motion with her claws, frowning lightly. "Some sort of pest that was creeping into the soil from beyond the walls. Due to her knowledge on the parasite she was able to prevent future spread of the infected areas, and she has set about advancing our irrigation system to travel the entire length of the forest floor, ensuring new crops will grow to replace those that were lost." She trilled and spun on her heels excitedly, padding closer to the archway leading out into the sanctum. "Come with me! I will show you!"

Dave chuckled at her excitement and pushed himself up from the smooth dirt floor, leaving little footprints against the ground as he stepped to her side. "Lead the way, little lady." He looked over at John and Karkat, the other human already rising to his feet to join them, offering a hand to Karkat. The Fein hesitated only for a moment then rose to his feet as well, John linking their fingers as they stepped outside into the daylight.

The light from the bright suns was muted from all the greenery growing across the surface of the dome. Only traces of pure sunlight beamed down into the sanctum here and there, revealing gaps in the thick grass and moss, the suns mostly casting a vivid viridian glow throughout the interior of the dome. The lanterns still burned brightly along the boughs of the trees and the arched pathways, illuminating the shadowed areas untouched by sunlight.

Aradia was talking again, looking up at Dave with a wide smile and bright eyes, the human smiling down at her as she spoke. "Her knowledge is seemingly endless, and her ability to move from one place to the next in an instant is amazing! Though...she seems much different than either of you." She glanced back at John and Karkat, then returned her eyes to Dave. "What _is_ she?"

"Welp, to put it simply she's a swarm of nanotech." He thought for a moment, Aradia blinking up at him curiously, before continuing. "She's basically like...a cloud of constantly moving machines, all synchronizing together to produce an image of her choosing, but they're much too small to see with the naked eye." He pinched his fingers together, making the space between them as small as he possibly could. "Each one of those tiny little nanomachines is programmed directly with the starship autopilot's A.I. and it gives her a holographic body while she travels along with us." He reached up and tapped at his scanner, the small disc embedded just beneath the surface of his skin, barely visible even as he leaned closer so she could see the curved outline. "Her main database lives within our hardware, mainly our scanners but also our starfleet gear like our sights within our goggles." He made faux goggles against his face with his fingers, grinning while crossing his arms behind his head and looking up at the bright green light illuminating the upper dome. "That being said, she doesn't really need us for anything now that she's in hybrid mode. She's completely independent. She can function remotely, or return to what remains of the ship, whenever she likes. She was given freedom to do whatever she wants to really, in case we ever get separated." He looked down at Aradia again, "What's really cool is she can live off of the tiniest amounts of energy, from wind to rainwater. Especially solar." He pointed up towards the filtered sunlight overhead. "With two suns, she'll live for eons after we're dead and gone, roaming this world without us. Her nanotech was built to survive practically anything." He chuckled softly, amused at the petite Fein at his side with her wide eyes and awed expression. "She might be able to explore the planets that orbit yours, or maybe even explore the nearby stars." He shrugged, rubbing at the back of his head. "The possibilities for her are endless. She is the most advanced technology of our time."

John was listening, a smile across his face as he spoke up after Dave. "Rose can do just about everything we can do in the end, and so much more, but _we_ have something she'll never be able to truly replicate." He pointed to his nose, continuing. "We have senses she does not possess, most notably the senses of smell, taste, and touch." He looked down at Karkat, squeezing the Fein's hand gently, Karkat perking his ears towards John and searching his blue eyes silently. "She might outlive us by millenia, but she is an artificial intelligence, and we are living beings." His voice was soft, his tone thoughtful. "The things that make us human are our feelings, our emotions, our connections with other living beings. That's what makes us who we are as individuals, and it makes each of us unique in our own right." He glanced up to Dave and Aradia, smiling as they looked back at him, watching him as he continued. "So, keep that in mind when you speak with her. Rose is an amazing asset, and I am so glad to hear that she has already been able to assist you with your clutch," he gave Aradia an apologetic look, his brow arched and his smile a little nervous as he added, "but in the end, she is still learning. If she ever becomes too much, please tell her so. She will grow from her interactions with you and the other Fein. She wants to help, it is in her core design." He looked to Karkat for a moment before returning his eyes to Aradia, nodding a bit towards the smaller Fein. "She will do whatever she can now that she sees you as our allies, as thanks for sheltering us. You've already done so much for us, please let us know if we can do more."

Aradia giggled softly, her ears flicking back and forth as she twittered and chirped in laughter. "I am happy to help! I have never been more excited to have you here. I hope you will stay with us as long as you like!" They walked together for a while longer before she chirped happily and bound ahead a ways, running to greet her palemate. He was standing at the edge of a small stream weaving through the large groves of crops, Rose beside him, the A.I. pointing while indicating certain areas of each grove. Dave and John stepped closer as well, trailing after Aradia, Karkat following quietly behind them.

The Alpha turned to greet the small omega that pressed up against his side, then turned to look back at the three boys approaching. Rose did as well, chiming a pleasant hello and making inquiries as to John and Dave's wellbeing while Karkat stood close by, his ears twitching back and forth between their voices. He looked from the Fein nearby to those that were working the groves, removing dead patches of plants and tilling the soil, making it ready to plant fresh crops once the pests had been destroyed. He exhaled shakily, trying to calm his tense nerves. He had been outcast for so long, it set him on edge being surrounded by so many strangers. He looked to John when the human stepped back to his side, taking his hand and squeezing his fingers lightly. The dark cloth draped across his chest and waist was soft against Karkat's fur as he leaned close and wrapped his arms around the tense bat, rubbing along his upper back gently.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly, pulling back just enough to meet his eyes. Karkat nodded, returning the gesture lightly, his hands moving to John's sides and grasping at the silk, letting out a slow exhale and forcing the tension from his shoulders. John reached up and pet his cheek, searching his expression for a long while before turning to look at Dave when the other boy called for him. The blonde was gesturing to the large basin at the bottom of the spring and walking towards it with Aradia, the small bat tugging his hand excitedly as she guided him towards the water. It appeared they were intent on swimming. John turned back to Karkat and met his eyes again, leaning in and pressing their foreheads together, stroking lightly against Karkat's fur. "Do you want to go with Dave? Or would you rather go back to the den?"

The Fein tensed a bit, trying not to let it show, leaning into John's touch and nodding slowly. He didn't want to ruin this, didn't want to do something strange regardless of how oddly he was feeling, and he was sure John wanted to be there with Dave. The two boys were almost inseparable. "We can go." Karkat said quietly, glancing up and noticing Tavros was watching them. It caused his fur to prickle a bit along his shoulders and nape, and he quickly shifted to take John's wrist and pull him along behind him, following the way Dave and Aradia had walked before. They left the Alpha with Rose in the groves behind them, Karkat feeling his gaze lingering after them, the omega shivering at the sensation of being watched so closely.

There were Fein lounging at the edge of the basin as they approached, small bats running around the shallows and giggling as they splashed one another, running around Aradia's legs and clinging to her thighs, chirping up at her happily. She bent down and picked one of the pups up, resting him against her hip while he nuzzled against her chest, the omega crooning softly and dipping down to nuzzle her nose between his ears. The pup trilled up at her, chirping excitedly and letting out bursts of bubbly laughter. She set him back on his feet after a few moments and reached out for Dave, tugging at the bindings of his sarong so it fell from his shoulders and chest to settle loosely at his waist, tucking the extra fabric around his hips and thighs then stepping into the water, tugging the tall blonde behind her. Dave was clearly enjoying the attention, turning back to look at John and grinning impishly which had the dark-headed boy scoffing softly, shaking his head. He sighed and looked to Karkat, his expression full of fond exasperation, and the rouge bat searched his eyes for a long moment before he moved his hands to John's chest, untying his wrap as well and folding it back as Aradia had for Dave.

John watched him as he moved, the Fein's claws gently tracing his pale skin as Karkat finished tucking away the fabric at his waist, the human reaching out and taking both of his hands, squeezing lightly. Karkat looked up and met his eyes, his gaze drifting down to that dark purple bruise around his neck and frowning lightly, glancing away. John waited a long moment, then guided the bat gently into the water, wading in and watching him with a soft, tender smile. Karkat felt as if he could see right through him, every bit of him exposed beneath those deep, blue eyes. His heart fluttered lightly as he pressed closer to John's chest and turned his ear towards his sternum, listening to his steady heartbeat.

He slowly started to relax again as they sank into the water, Dave and Aradia already further out towards the middle where the clear water was dark and deep. The human was laughing loudly as he grabbed her up and tossed her across the water, Aradia shrieking gleefully and swimming back for more, the two splashing one another playfully and swimming circles around one another. John kept his eyes trained on Karkat's features, noting the way his shoulders eventually uncoiled and his ears started twitching slightly towards different sounds here and there, his face relaxing and his expression soft. He leaned closer, his hands finding Karkat's side and waist, tugging him closer in the water, Karkat watching him curiously as John smoothed his hands along his warm fur, flowing lightly beneath the water.

"There you are. I almost thought I'd lost you." Karkat gave him a confused look, and John smiled gently, pressing his forehead to the bat's. "You've been out of it ever since last night, and you always seem to be tense around Aradia. Is it because of this?" He reached up and touched at his neck lightly, searching Karkat's eyes while keeping him close.

Karkat was quiet for a long moment before he replied, his fingerpads tracing across John's pectorals under the surface of the springwater. "I don't know exactly. I think...perhaps because of what happened to me...being here, like this. It doesn't feel real." He glanced away for a moment before meeting John's eyes again. "When I see her it's like...seeing a part of myself that I lost. I keep thinking of Kankri, of how things were before everything became so complicated. Before Kurloz, before Gamzee…" Aradia shrieked again as Dave hurled her through the air, several Fein along the shoreline watching and twittering, the small bats in the shallows chirping excitedly and gesturing to the human and Fein playing together. Karkat exhaled softly, his ears laying back a bit. This wasn't the time or place, and he was sure John would rather be playing games and enjoying the water. He didn't need to hear all of this.

John didn't move, didn't turn to look at them, his eyes focused solely on Karkat. He shifted slowly, moving one hand to cup the Fein's cheek, petting softly and tilting his face up, letting out a soft breath and arching his brow, whispering, "I'm so sorry. You've been hurt so badly, I wish there was something I could do for you. Some way I could erase what happened, take away your pain…" He looked down at Karkat's neck, his eyes tracing the still healing wound at his shoulder, then the large silvery scar marking his throat, the bat warbling softly and drawing his eyes back up again. They stayed that way for a long moment, then John dipped down ever so slightly, brushing his mouth to Karkat's. He breathed softly against him, tracing the edges of his lips gently as the bat shivered against him, pulling back moments later and searching his eyes, thumb tracing the curve of his cheek.

Karkat could feel the heat blossoming under John's light touch, his heart fluttering wildly. The kiss Dave had given him the night before had been sweet. It had grounded him back to the moment, it had made him feel safe enough to let go, show his vulnerability, and finally cry. This kiss was something different. It was a solemn vow, a promise, though of what exactly Karkat couldn't be sure. He dipped his ears back just a bit before perking them again, leaning in and pressing their mouths back together, kissing John soft and light, trying to mimic the movements against the human's lips he had felt before. John smiled and breathed softly against him, slanting his mouth slightly and kissing the Fein with a bit more pressure, their lips exploring one another for the first time. When he pulled away Karkat was trembling lightly against his chest, breath shuddering through him and his face bright red, accenting his rouge fur. He wanted to hide his face against John's neck but he also didn't want to hurt him, and so he was caught there beneath the human's gaze, basking in the warmth of his smile. He was embarrassed, but also undeniably happy at his gentle affections. He could still taste him, his senses filled with his scent and warmth.

Eventually they pulled away, enough that they could both swim a bit and dunk beneath the water. When they drew closer to the center Dave tugged John backwards into the deeper blue, Aradia trilling as she joined in, tugging at John's arm happily. Karkat watched them, waiting until he was sure he was invited, and then swam over to Dave's side and pressed up against him, the blonde wrapping his arms around the Fein's shoulders, laughing merrily. Slowly Karkat relaxed, he began to smile and splash them back as they played, and when Aradia reached over and touched his arm he didn't flinch away from her gentle grasp.

The smaller omega smiled up at him, purring happily as she nuzzled against his upper arm. She watched him with a curious, kind smile as she tugged him gently along with her, swimming towards the series of smooth rocks forming a waterfall beneath the bubbling spring. The clear, cool water poured down into the basin in small flowing arcs, the sunlight warming the still waters of the large natural basin, Aradia ducking under the water and sighing softly as she looked over at Karkat. She was quiet for a few moments, then she swam closer to him again, searching his eyes and touching his arm as she asked softly, "The humans, your companions, have you bonded with them?"

Karkat tilted an ear to the side, narrowing his eyes a bit. "No, we aren't bonded." He wondered briefly if she was referring to the mark he still wore, and he added tensely, "I was forced into a bond with Gamzee. He...marked me, before he fell to Dave's blade." He flicked an ear irritably, feeling uncomfortable talking about such things with a Fein he barely knew, but he needed to make sure she understood. "The claim was unconsummated. I held no affection for the Makara heir. It was arranged by the Highblood."

Aradia looked shocked at his revelation, dipping her ears back a bit and chirping softly. She glanced past Karkat's shoulder to Dave and John who were swimming together a short distance away, then drew her eyes back to Karkat. "I...I asked because I saw John…" She didn't have the words, pressing her fingers to her lips questioningly. "The way he held you, and the way Dave speaks of you, I thought perhaps you were bonded to them both."

Karkat blinked, lowering his ears a bit and dropping his tone. "You were watching us…?" He glanced away awkwardly, shifting back a bit when Aradia reached forward, her hand missing contact as he swam backwards. John had...kissed him, in front of others. Was the action pale? Or flushed? They weren't bound, they were just...friends. Weren't they? Perhaps he had misunderstood. "They are not mine." He said curtly, avoiding her eyes, and something about those words cut into his chest, stinging deeper than he'd expected it to. He left her there, turning away from Dave and John and quickly reaching the shallows, ducking his ears back. He didn't want to question it, didn't want to know if what he was experiencing was one-sided. He couldn't. He shied away from a few nearby Fein that smiled towards him, keeping his eyes down as he circled around the basin and made his way back to their temporary den, chest clenching. It ached. It _hurt_. He didn't want to think about it, didn't want to know why she had asked. It took the breath from his lungs, replacing the warmth that had been there before with something else entirely.

He didn't stop walking until he felt a hand grab his wrist, bringing him to a halt, his shoulders tensing when he realized he felt claws pressing against his skin. Not John or Dave chasing after him, and too large to be Aradia. His senses were screaming at him, every shred of instinct on high alert as he tried to pull his wrist away. _Alpha_. It was Tavros. He must have been close to the basin when Karkat had turned and walked away. His closeness set the omega's nerves on edge, making him feel unsafe. He didn't want to be touched right now, he just wanted to get away from everyone, just hide someplace dark and quiet. Somewhere he felt safe. The grip remained steadfast, and the Fein drew closer, Karkat shivering at the Alpha's presence, not turning to meet his gaze.

"What did Aradia say to you?" Tavros asked, his voice deep and low. Not a command, but Karkat could sense the authority there. He wouldn't let the inquiry go unanswered.

Swallowing thickly, Karkat tilted one ear back towards the Prima, his voice little above a whisper as he replied. "She asked if I was bonded."

Tavros took a step closer, turning Karkat to face him, keeping his wrist in hand, his grip not gentle, but also not harsh. "Are you?" He asked, his tone indiscernible, Karkat snapping his head up with a low growl, clenching his fists as he glared up at the larger male. His bronze eyes were swirling with a strange light, something silvery causing his irises to glow.

"I am _not_." He snarled, flashing his fangs, every nerve in his body prickling with electricity. He didn't want this, he didn't _want_ to talk about it. He didn't want to think about Gamzee's final mark, or about John and Dave being a different species, and the _uncertainty_ , the _not knowing_ , the _feelings_ he was experiencing. He wanted to black it all out. He wasn't in the right place to deal with any of it appropriately. He needed time to decompress, and think. He'd never experienced feeling something this intense since presenting as an omega.

Tavros watched him, his gaze unwavering, bronze eyes burning into him and _fuck_ Karkat wanted to run and hide. He didn't know a single Alpha he trusted, and something inside of him was twisting with cold panic, replacing his frustration and anger with sickening dread. He shivered lightly, still dripping wet from swimming moments before, and when the Prima stepped into his space and dipped down to press his nose between Karkat's ears the omega couldn't stop the soft, pained whine that left him, trembling despite himself. The Alpha huffed against him softly, his other hand finding Karkat's side and pulling him closer, the smaller bat frozen in place, ears dipped submissively, a low whine caught in his throat.

The bronze bat crooned softly, gentling him, shifting down to his neck and tilting his head back slowly. Karkat scrambled to dig his claws into his broad, muscled shoulders, expecting to feel that sharp heat as his fangs sunk in over his throat. Instead, he felt a soft, warm tongue, Tavros lapping at his wound gently. Karkat chirped softly in distress, still biting his claws into the larger bat's shoulders instinctively to try to push him away, but as he continued licking against the mark Karkat felt himself start to relax. His breath, once coming in quick shudders, was now calming down to a steady rhythm, the smaller bat swallowing thickly as he felt his skin start to stitch back together and heal. Tavros pulled back just enough to look down at the mark before dipping back down again, laving his tongue against each deep point, erasing all traces of the mark that Gamzee had left behind. When he withdrew he looked down at the omega, nuzzling between his ears gently then pulling away, leaving Karkat to stand on his own, eyes wide, watching the Prima as he stepped back towards the basin. Aradia was standing a distance away, her eyes churning with that same silvery light, Tavros reaching out for her and pulling her close. The two Fein shared a light embrace before beginning to walk back towards the spring hand in hand, not looking back, Karkat lingering where he was, trapped in stunned silence.

Dave and John were at his side a moment later, John petting his cheek and asking if he was alright, Dave standing quietly beside him, lips set into a fine line. When the Fein didn't respond, John took Karkat's hand and tugged him the final distance to their den, Dave following right behind. He paused only to lower the canvas tied above the entryway to hide them from wandering eyes before crossing the threshold, passing the fire and heading to the shadowed chamber beyond, finding John and Karkat already curled up together in bed. John looked up as he approached, the blonde crawling over and taking his place behind Karkat, the Fein's shoulders jerking softly as he was touched. Dave soothed him gently with whispered words and soft kisses to his shoulder and nape, John petting his cheeks and jaw and pressing their foreheads together, promising Karkat he was safe.

"What happened?" John asked gently once Karkat seemed to have calmed down enough to respond, "Did Tavros...did he hurt you?"

"Aradia kept apologizing for upsetting you, she wanted to go after you but thought she would only make it worse." Dave said softly against his shoulder. "She wouldn't tell me what she said."

Karkat sighed shakily, twittering softly and closing his eyes, trying to gather his thoughts and reply to them both. "Aradia...she asked me..." He glanced up to meet John's eyes, then broke away again, his throat tight and his voice small. "She asked me if I was bound to you."

John blinked, asking cautiously, "Bound to me?"

Karkat nodded, leaning closer and pressing his cheek to John's, hiding his face against the blanket and nuzzling under his jaw, careful of his bruised neck as he inhaled his scent. "To you, and to Dave."

Dave was listening closely, and Karkat could feel his frown against his shoulder as his arms wrapped a bit tighter around the shivering omega. "Should she have not asked you something like that?" He rubbed the Fein's back, drifting down his side, kneading gently to work out the tension he was still holding, Karkat sighing and pressing back against him as he slowly relented and relaxed under his touch.

His voice was quiet as he spoke, but he was calmer now, enough to meet John's worried gaze. "She...didn't mean it the way I took it, I think. She was just curious, because of how close I am to both of you." He pressed his forehead to John's, petting against his chest gently, feeling hot embarrassment flood across his cheeks. "I...I told her you aren't mine…" He felt that sharp twist in his chest again, that ache he didn't know how to stop. "I know that...you aren't…" His brow arched and he looked away, tucking his face back against the blankets and exhaling shakily, a whine caught in his tight throat. How could he explain it? He felt that somehow, despite them being human, they were both Alphas. _His_ Alphas. He wanted to be with them. He wanted to _know_ they felt the same way, that he was _theirs_. Not knowing, not being able to express it in a way that they would understand, it was twisting knots in his stomach. He felt sick.

John looked up at Dave, searching the other boy's eyes, clearly at a loss. Dave paused, thinking for a moment, then he leaned in and asked against the Fein's neck, "Do you _want_ to be bound to us both?"

The soft twitter that escaped him trembled through his body, shivering against John's chest and Dave's back, the humans pressing close against him to keep him grounded between them. He didn't respond with words, too overwhelmed, his claws pressing a bit firmer against John's chest, but nodded slowly, his ears back. He could barely breathe. His heart was racing. He wanted them both so much he couldn't stand it.

"Tavros, he…?" John questioned softly, Karkat shifting a bit so he could speak from just below John's cheek.

"He healed me, he wasn't hurting me. I think he understood somehow that the mark was forced." He pulled back enough that he could tilt his head to the side, showing the opposite side of his neck was now devoid of any mark. That silver light that Tavros and Aradia had shared, he wondered if it was majyyk of some kind. Perhaps she had relayed to him what Karkat had spoken before he'd run off.

John brushed his fingers through Karkat's soft fur, parting it gently and searching for any remaining trace, sighing in relief when finding none. "Good, I'm glad. I'm so glad…" He dipped forward and kissed Karkat's forehead, then cheek, searching his expression for just a moment before pressing his lips to the Fein's softly. Karkat returned the kiss with light pressure, Dave still rubbing along his back and side, a soft warble passing between them as John pulled away, his blue eyes soft, his expression warm. "I...don't know exactly what it means to be bonded, or if it's even possible between our species, but I care so much for you, Karkat. You, and Dave. You mean everything to me."

Dave hummed a soft affirmation, smiling as he pressed soft kisses along Karkat's neck and squeezed him tight. "I may not be the biggest romantic in the universe, but I care a hell of a lot for you both, too." He peeked up over his shoulder and caught his eyes. "Enough to risk my neck to keep you both out of trouble," he looked to John, grinning cheekily, "and definitely enough to wanna kiss both of your stupid faces every chance I get."

John laughed softly and Karkat smiled, his ears perking up a bit as he looked between them, rolling over a bit so Dave could lean in and give him a soft kiss. Karkat sighed and closed his eyes, one of his hands twining with John's while his other found Dave's and squeezed lightly. He kept them close, breathing in their scents and fighting not to cry. He may not be promised or bound to these two boys, but they were just as much his as he was theirs. With them he felt invincible. With them he finally felt whole.

-x-x-x-

Aradia perked her ears towards her moirail, the Alpha pacing steadily back and forth before the large bonfire in the center of the den, his face set into a deep frown. She could feel his strong, resonating connection with the hives living in swarms across the entire Viridian Sea, the bronze troll easily able to communicate with them all and see through their eyes with his majyyk abilities as a summoner. She was quiet, waiting patiently, giving him time to finish his remote surveillance before requesting more of his attention. He'd already done what she had asked, going after Karkat when she felt that she could not, helping him in her stead. He had healed the terse, defensive omega, ridding him of the unwanted mark that had marred his neck so garrishly. Aradia could still feel the other omega trembling through the connection they had shared, when Tavros had held him still. She frowned a little as she thought about the other wound the omega held. There was little Tavros could do to mend the large, silvery scar that marked his throat, another token no doubt handed down by the heir from long ago. She had never seen such scars on an omega before. It hurt her heart. She wanted to comfort him, be close to him, but he seemed to want nothing to do with her.

She huffed out a soft breath, dipping her ears back a bit and trying not to think too much on it. It was in the past, Gamzee Makara was dead. He would never be able to hurt Karkat again. They had other immediate concerns. She looked up towards Tavros as he turned to continue pacing before the fire, shifting her psychic abilities to harmonize with his majyyks. Her eyes swirling with silver light, she called out to him with her mind, wisps of warmth brushing against his steadfast link between himself and the hivelings.

" _How does the hive seem now? Are they returning to their normal routines?"_

She felt Tavros brush against her tentative mental link in reply, accepting her in and allowing her to converse directly with his mind, still pacing. " _There is still unrest amongst the western border, closest to where the storm had gathered. It reeks of the Highblood, and the swarm senses the threat. If the Makaras and Zahhaks plan on launching an invasion to track down the humans who took Gamzee's life, it might spark the Rebellion before Rufioh has time to officially call to arms."_

Aradia shifted from atop the pile, her movements nearly soundless as she stripped off her silks, the fabrics dropping to the floor around her bare feet as she padded across the smooth dirt floor, reaching out and taking one of his hands gently. She brought it to her face, pressing his fingers to cup her cheek, nuzzling against his palm with soft presses of lips and soothing purrs. " _Come nest with me, let me ease your worries. There will be time, word will reach your broodmate. Have faith in yourself, as I have faith in you."_

He turned and exhaled slowly, meeting her eyes and tracing his fingerpads slowly against her soft lips. Dipping down and scooping her up, he lifted her to his height and held her close, inhaling deeply against her neck. He allowed her warm, sweet scent to draw him back from his connection with the hive and into the present moment, her chirps soft as he nuzzled into her neck, lapping gently against her glands. She gasped and twittered softly, already purring louder than before, pressing as close as she could to him while still held high against his shoulder and chest, practically melting against him.

He carried her back to bed, Aradia stroking her claw-tips along his great pinnae and chirping sweetly for him, the bronze looking down at her affectionately, his slit irises slowly dilating. Tavros leaned down, breathing her in, licking across her breasts and rounded tummy as he made his way down her petite form. He buried his face between her plush thighs eagerly, his tongue darting out to lap at her soft skin. She was already wet for him, her bulgetip sticking out ever so slightly, responding to his breath and touch. She gasped needily and arched her back, chirping while stroking his ears as he tasted her slowly, his tongue pressing in deep, curling against her tight heat just the way she liked. Aradia was chirping softly, rocking her hips down against her palemate's face and chirring as her small rust bulge curled upwards, seeking out something to grasp onto. She kept hold of his ears as he tasted her, over and over, her voice rising higher until she snapped her hips up and let out a sweet, high moan, Tavros drinking from her greedily as she climaxed against his tongue in rolling waves.

When he pulled back from her glossy nook he licked his lips, nuzzling against her inner thighs. The rust bat was purring loudly, beckoning him closer, rubbing her nose to his cheek and jaw before dipping down to lap at his scent glands slowly, her breath still shivering from her orgasm. The Alpha made a low, deep sound of satisfaction, reclining his head back a bit further and letting the omega push him back to crawl up atop his chest, wriggling her hips back until she could feel the curve of his bulge writhing beneath the fabric crossing over his waist. She lifted herself up and pulled the silks away, freeing the large, thick tentacle from its confinement. She smiled down at him, twittering brightly as she took the length of it in both hands and drew it close against her chest, letting it writhe between her breasts while dipping down to taste the tip of it, Tavros groaning softly and watching her with heavily-lidded eyes.

"Aradia…" He whispered softly, his hands holding her hips, rubbing against her thighs. All thoughts drowned out save focusing on her, on the connection they shared, silver igniting in his dark irises. She flexed her mind against his again and again, her eyes shining brightly with churning silver as she licked at the tip for several long, lingering moments. She continued rocking her hips up, arching her body against the length of it, pressing her breasts together so it had a tight, warm sheathe to thrust into, the rust panting lightly with effort.

"Want you...to feel good too…" She chirped eagerly as she squeezed her breasts against his curling bulge, the Alpha grunting and watching her as she mouthed at his bulgetip again and used her entire body to stroke him, his thick bronze slick covering her mahogany fur. She was so turned on she was dripping, her small rust bulge reaching out and grasping around what length it could, trying to twine together with the much larger bronze tentacle. It had Tavros rumbling loudly in the back of his throat.

Tavros' breath quickened, the Alpha crooning softly to her, reaching down to pick her up and guide her to lay against his chest. His bulge curled up instinctively and twisted between her thighs to enter her, the omega chirping loudly and rocking her hips back as she was thoroughly stretched and filled. He rocked up against her, keeping her close as he pushed more of his bulge inside her, the appendage curling in on itself and filling her as much as it could. She tightened around him and her voice rose an octave higher when she reached her limit, her claws pressing against his chest, caught between too much pleasure and the edges of pain. He nuzzled between her ears, crooning low and deep, undulating within her and listening to her harsh breathing as slowly she began rocking back against him, chirping desperately for release.

They always found release with one another to be the most satisfying experience either of them could achieve, their minds twining together as they succumbed to bliss. Aradia's voice cried out, airy and light, as she clenched around him and pulled him deeper, Tavros' groans harmonizing low and rough as he filled her up with his warmth. She rested against his chest, shivering and chirping softly as he pet along her back, nuzzling and scenting one another as they shared their afterglow. Tracing clawtips across flushed skin filled one another with overwhelming sensations of calm, safety, and peace. She perked up her ears as she butted against his jaw, shifting up to curl against his shoulder and press her face over his neck, purring contentedly. He watched her as she rested at his side, his expression soft, trailing his fingers against her thighs as he whispered, "Pale for you."

" _Mmh_! Pale for you too." She grinned happily as she nuzzled against him, mind still filled with foggy, blissful afterglow, the two content to lay together a while with their minds pleasantly blank. There would be time to worry about the possibilities of a looming invasion and an ensuing insurgence, but for now they held tightly to this. If nothing else, they would always have each other.

-x-x-x-

Mituna hadn't been able to stop buzzing and sparking all night, sending stray showers of frantic psionic energy throughout the depths of the Captor's cavernous den. The pyre had set him off, the damaged psionic unable to control his reaction to the dark smoke blotting out the suns. Sollux did what he could to console his broodmate, but when he got like this there wasn't much he could do except keep the psionic from hurting himself or someone else in their clutch. All through the night and into the morning Sollux watched over him, soothing him until he was calm. He left the cave only once the suns were high in the sky and the bright light cast away all remnants of the pyre's shadow, leaving Mituna to rest while he took to the skies, heading south.

It was rare that he would opt to venture into the Viridian Sea. He had been there only a handful of times, mainly exploring the vast open grassland out of boredom, most of it constantly shrouded in fog and hivespawn which tended to be rather uneventful. He typically turned his aimless flights into something more productive, flexing his psionics and practicing controlling his more unstable abilities in the wide open spaces above the marshes.

He could already feel his energy prickling beneath his skin as he started over the vast fields of grass, his eyes buzzing angrily with overflowing light. When he arched back and unleashed a torrent of lightning across the skies it sent showers of red and blue sparks raining down over the ground far below, hissing as it singed the moisture in the air. He repeated this several times, releasing as much excess energy as he could, punching the air, growling and twisting through aerial acrobatics that had his stomach somersaulting and his head spinning with bright rushes of endless energy. He wanted to do something, wanted to _fight_ the bastards that did this to his brother, _kill_ them for what they did to his Prima. He wanted to rip the Condesce and all her minions apart, starting with the Highblood. He wanted his _father_.

He punched through the air, growling angrily, feeling hot sparks sting across his skin. So much time had passed since his capture, Sollux was beginning to forget his face. He missed him, and though it pained him he doubted he would ever see his sire alive again. He had been too close, in too deep. He should never have followed The Signless during the First Insurrection. The Condesce would force him to suffer for it throughout eternity. The thought of that Alpha, with her cold, fuchsia eyes and her grotesquely long claws prodding at him, poking at him. It made Sollux feel sick. He wanted her two-toned head on a pike.

Eventually he let out a deep breath and rolled his shoulders against the wind, the gravity lulling him as he let his psionics fall, the constant buzzing in the back of his mind now a low, manageable hum. He felt something else there, something brushing against the back of his mind, and he focused on it, pulling it closer. It felt vaguely familiar, though he couldn't quite place it. A flash of rust came to mind. The Medigo heir. His former palemate.

Curling his lip to reveal a fang, he called out to her through the open air, tugging at that tendril pressing against his mind. "Been a while, Megido. You with Nitram?"

" _Sollux Captor! I thought so."_ Her voice was soft and bright in his mind, the psionic humming a bit and sending little waves of psionics through the air currents as he reclined under the bright sky, the grasses rustling in pulses of electrified wind far below. " _It's unusual for you to come this deep into the sea. Did you sense the pyre?"_

Sollux let his expression fall, snorting angrily and letting out a low growl. "Bastards, we were right in the middle of it, trading with merchants at the river. Saw the whole thing up close, the storm was so thick it turned day to night." He growled softly, continuing on. "Mituna couldn't handle it, poor blight. He still cares about Kurloz regardless of what happened between them. I'm just glad Meulin didn't have to see it too."

Aradia's voice was quiet for a while before she said softly, " _Surely Nepeta would have, and relayed the events…"_ Her voice went silent again, then she added. " _It's been ages since I've spoken with the Leijon heiress'. I hope they are well…"_

Sollux flipped over midair and surveyed the viridian waves below, dipping back down towards the marshes and reaching out with his psionics to feel across the damp soil and the tunnels buried far beneath. The hive seemed a bit restless, probably why Aradia was away from her clan and spending time with her moirail. They were practically inseparable. He huffed out a soft breath and reached out through their link, finding the pulse of her signature hidden within the Nitram dome. It was submerged under dense brambles, concealed within the surrounding reeds and thick mist, Sollux weaving slowly towards it once he honed in on the location. Aradia seemed to sense him coming closer and she called out again through his mind.

" _Now might not be the best time for an impromptu visit, Sollux. Tavros is rather on edge with handling...everything, right now."_

He quirked his brow, frowning a bit and stalling mid-air, blinking slowly as his psionics mapped out the terrain below him. He could feel the clade nearby, the sanctuary of the Rebellion, and the psionic could sense they had grown dramatically in numbers since the last time he had passed by overhead. Curiosity getting the better of him, he asked cheekily as he continued forward, "What's that, Megido? Don't think your palemate would be happy to see me?" He grinned toothily, baring his large fangs as he laughed to himself, clearly amused. "Or is there something there you're trying to hide from me? Tavros find himself a cute omega to fill his flushed quadrant? Don't want me to flirt with your competition?"

Sollux could _feel_ her sigh even without hearing it. She was quiet for a long moment before she said, " _The pyre, what is your assumption as to why it was lit?"_

The psionic frowned, one pinna twitching to the side as he blinked up towards the sunlight. He had been so busy with Mituna, he hadn't really thought about it. "They only light the pyre when something big happens. Someone...important probably died, I guess?"

" _Yes. One of the heirs. Gamzee."_

His golden eyes widened as he blinked back down towards the ground, frowning as he finished his search to locate the dome, landing on top of the large overgrown sphere and walking across the thick moss growing across its sloping surface. "Alright...so Nitram is worked up because…?"

" _He believes this occurrence will push the Makaras to invade, or the Rebellion to rise up and attack. He is worried it may trigger things too soon, as we are still working on gathering more allies."_ She was quiet for a moment, then asked softly, " _Have you thought any more about joining us?"_

Sollux kicked at a large flowering cluster of seedlings, watching their fluffy spores drift through the air, caught on the passing breeze. "You know I've got enough to deal with right now with handling Mituna. I can't just leave him and join up with your band of renegades. Our Prima, he…" He sighed heavily, closing his eyes and turning his face to the suns, basking in their warmth. "He left Mituna in charge, but now _I'm_ the only one capable of making any rational decisions for the clan. If something happens, if I die during the fight, our entire clutch will be lost." His words were low, angry. "The surrounding clans, they'll come for us; Zahhak, Serket, Ampora. _Megido_." He said her clutch name pointedly at the end, waiting for her response. "Can you guarantee my clan's safety if I am gone? Can you tell me of a single living being upon this planet that could calm Mituna during one of his storms?" He flicked an ear to the side, adding softly, "Things would be different if your Prima hadn't chosen to ally with the Condesce. My father would still be here. _Mituna_ would still be here. Megido and Captor were once allies, but now…" He clenched his fist, feeling sparks jumping between his joints, traveling through his spindly bones. "...now things will never be the same."

" _I'm sorry."_ Her voice was soft, torn. " _I had to ask."_ She went quiet again, and for a while the tawny bat thought she might have gone, the sunlight gleaming across his golden fur reflecting brilliant white light. Eventually she spoke again, feeling him lingering still. " _You should go, Sollux. I can feel you, you're too close. The sentries will be after you."_

The psionic chuckled, glancing around the foggy dome, flicking his psionics against the mist so it curled backwards in pillowing waves away from him, his fur already damp from the heavy moisture clinging to the air. "You really think I'm afraid of your little arthropod friends? I could wipe out the entire swarm with one thought. You know better than that."

" _Please_." Her voice was soft, and if he hadn't known better he could have sworn he felt her small hands against his chest, pressing her claw-tips gently against his tawny fur. " _For me?"_

He narrowed his eyes a bit, exhaling through his nose as he mumbled softly, "Don't use that tone with me. We aren't pale anymore, Aradia." He kicked off of the dome, curving high into the air, severing their connection as he ascended. Chest tight, he pushed back the growl that rumbled within his chest, psionics sparking around his eyes as he unleashed another bolt of energy across the sky, heading north towards his clutch. He hated her for doing this, he hated her for choosing _him_ , and he _knew_ they shared both pale and flushed feelings, _knew_ they were intimate beyond moirails. If she was vacillating quadrants with Tavros why couldn't she just stay flushed for him, so _they_ could be pale together? Even if she wanted to at this point, he doubted he could make himself trust her again. They might be able to swing pitch, but Sollux had never really held concupiscent feelings for the small omega. He wanted to protect her, be by her side always. She had chosen Tavros Nitram instead.

He bit his lip, letting the sharpness center him as he made his way back to the clan, back to his brother, back to where he was needed and wanted the most. He turned his eyes to the west, thinking about what Aradia had told him, and pushed the knowledge to the back of his mind. They had already lost their Prima to the Highblood and Condesce. He wouldn't risk losing _everything_ on an insurrection that was doomed before it began. There was nothing powerful enough to overthrow the Empress' reign, otherwise he would have freed his sire long ago. All they could do was try to survive, and try to live as normally as they could while not incurring her wrath. He would do whatever it took to keep himself, Mituna, and their clutch safe. Even if that meant remaining neutral while the world around them went to war for the third time. He wished more than anything there had never been a Signless, if the first insurgence had never begun his father would still be with them. If they hadn't lost their Prima, the clutch dynamics would never have changed, and Aradia would still be pale for him. As it was, he doubted he would ever feel pale for anyone else ever again. He never imagined he would fall so hard for a rouge bat, the way his father had fallen before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sollux gives a hint as to what caused the First Insurrection, when the Signless rose up with his closest friends to overthrow the Empress' absolute reign. The Psiioniic is still alive to this day, captured and held prisoner in High Society. Sollux is doubtful that another insurrection will do any more than the last, and so he has decided not to join the Rebellion's cause. Meeting a certain rouge bat and his human companions just might change his mind.
> 
> Established Quadrants:
> 
> John/Dave/Karkat - Flushed (John/Dave, Dave/Karkat, Karkat/John)
> 
> Tavros/Aradia - Pale/Flushed
> 
> Sollux/Aradia - formerly Pale
> 
> Kurloz/Kankri - Flushed
> 
> Equius/Karkat - unrequited Pale
> 
> Gamzee/Karkat - unrequited Flushed
> 
> Thanks for reading! More to come!


	13. Abscond

As he swallowed down the final mouthful of charred meat Kurloz felt his mind snap. Raw energy rolled through him like a tidal wave, stronger than gravity, stronger than life or death itself. It was molten lava as it cascaded through his lungs, binding to his breath, coiling in his chest and sinking into his bones. His voodoos were churning wildly with power unlike anything he had ever felt before, chaotic energy flaring within him, barely bridled as it forged the Fein anew. This sensation was one only true Blood Majyyk could bring. He'd only experienced it a handful of times, and nothing in comparison to _this_.

The pitch Alpha fell forward towards the pyre, collapsing onto his knees and retching across the scorched ground below, his bones cracking and his skull splitting open as he let out a deafening shriek. The inky bile that flowed freely from his throat crafted runic designs beneath his bloody palms, rising whispers filling the air. The runes quickly spread, cracking the surrounding area with expanding fissures, several voices shouting out in fear as the onlooking clutch scrambled backwards away from the pyre in the centerpoint of the innermost sanctum. He barely registered those who were observing his transformation, feeling his sire's words echoing in his ears, his voice as clear as if he stood before him.

" _You will seek out those who have taken your brother's lifeforce._ "

He could see his father in that moment. It felt as real as if he were within the sanctum of High Society himself, frozen beneath the burning irises of the towering Fein, his massive jowls yawning as tar spilled forth from his tongue.

" _You will take back what is rightfully ours. Only then may he rest with our ancestors. The debt must be repaid._ "

The Highblood's power rocked through him, collapsing him to his knees.

" _You will destroy anyone who stands in your way. Do not fail me._ "

Kurloz's mind was instantly flooded with shockwaves of scattered imagery, rattled beyond words with the intensity of such a traumatic force. Memories he shared with his broodmate overwhelmed all else, dulling the pain and anguish deforming his body. It blinded his sight, causing his voice to still at the sudden calm in that all-encompassing darkness. He felt himself rise, looking around the expanse of open, dark water, his reflection mirrored across the surface. He blinked slowly, taking a step forward across the glassy water and reaching out towards the curling indigo smoke, raw energy so dense in the air he could clearly taste it. The indigo smoke recoiled away from him teasingly, tinging his fur and claws with tar, the hot, sticky substance ascending his arm to his shoulder and quickly consuming his entire being, wrapping around him tightly and squeezing until he felt them merge into one. He could feel his brother's breath against his ear.

When he blinked, Kankri was standing before him, the omega looking up at him with wide, fearful eyes. The little rouge bat kept his ears ducked back as he reached out for him, petting his fingers against his chest, but Kurloz didn't feel it as he had before. It was outside of him, apart from his consciousness. There was a veil between himself and the world. He felt his body respond slowly to his will, reaching up and touching his mate's face, the omega chirping softly in distress as his claws cut into his cheek. He frowned and slowly pulled back, feeling too heavy, too sluggish, his responses delayed. He blinked down at his claws before looking to Kankri, peering down at the mark he'd left, trying to make sense of what he was feeling. He was operating a body that was no longer his own.

He could feel spindly fingers curling around his throat, a smile pressed to his shoulder, his brother's voice at his ear. "Pretty little beast, he'd look _much better_ screaming beneath you."

Kurloz turned his head lightly, hearing water drip as his feet brushed not against scorched earth but along that dark ocean's surface once more, meeting eyes with Gamzee. They shared a look for a long moment, before Kurloz pressed their foreheads together and sighed evenly, tugging gently against their bond.

"You can play with the ones that did this to you, but my Bella is mine alone." He kept their eyes locked together, Gamzee grinning wide enough to show all of his sharp teeth from top to bottom, his laughter shuddering through Kurloz's chest as if he himself were chuckling. He tried to grasp at his brother's energy, tried to coax him into calm with soft words. "Can you help me find the one that did this to you? I'm here with you now to avenge your death. I will do everything in my power to grant you eternal peace. Guide me."

Gamzee's eyes glinted excitedly as his query, nodding eagerly as he withdrew from his brother and put a few breadths distance between them, tracing his toe-claws against the dark, smoky water. "I can feel him here. He's _close_." He keened and arched his back, twisting sickeningly into a contorted mirror of the charred flesh Kurloz has just consumed before the pyre. His eyes were glowing brightly with neon green and brilliant violet as his energy surged through Kurloz's veins, the Prima inhaling sharply as he saw flashes of the human boy. His hair was pale, his eyes shadowed but burning red within the darkness. The weapon he wielded was unlike anything Kurloz could have imagined. He could feel the bite of the blade as Gamzee had in his final moments; it burned hotter than the dual suns, glowing with unholy light. Sacrilege. Their father had been right to call the humans _heretics_. "He is in the Viridian Sea." Gamzee keened, his eyes glowing eerily as indigo smoke curled around his shadowed frame. "He's with _The Summoner's_ youngest heir, his human companion, and my bondmate."

Kurloz narrowed his eyes, shifting to turn his body completely towards his brother, tilting his pinnae as asking slowly, "Your bondmate?"

Gamzee trilled happily and in an instant he was plastered across Kurloz's chest, his claws digging into his neck again, his long tongue darting across his massive fangs hungrily. "I _claimed_ him! I marked our bond! _He is mine!_ " He pushed their foreheads together, everywhere they touched icy-hot and sweltering all at once. Kurloz grit his fangs and pushed his will back against his brother's invasive advances, maintaining control as well as he could while Gamzee clung to him and howled shrilly. His eyes were dilated into slits as he rocked his body against his brothers, urging him into action. "I want to see him! I _want to see him!_ Take me to the Viridian Sea!"

"Patience." Kurloz crooned softly, reaching up to touch his shoulder and kneading soothingly, quieting Gamzee as the younger Alpha whined frustratedly and slowly pulled his claws away. "I'll take you to him. I will help you rest. Patience, Gamzee. Trust in me. I do this gladly for you."

He let out a stuttering growl that was more of an amused cackle than a threat. "Don't make me wait long, brother. I'm _hungry_." The smoke rose thicker, the lines between the ocean and the pitch sky melding into one, Gamzee backing away from him drunkenly. Kurloz narrowed his eyes, losing sight of him in the churning miasma, and then he felt something tight in his chest slowly release, allowing him to breathe deeply again.

As Gamzee settled within him to rest, that vast, dark ocean faded away and returned him to reality in the present moment. He could feel his body once again, completely in control of his thoughts and actions. He shuddered and flexed his hands, shaking out his limbs and blinking around the clearing. The rite had been a success, they were as one now, and would continue to be until Kurloz had fulfilled his purpose. Gamzee would be lying there within him just below the surface waiting to be avenged, however long that might take. He was so strong, and so willful, Kurloz knew it would be an endless battle just to maintain control while he hunted down his brother's killers. He would stop at nothing to succeed.

Turning his gaze down towards the small figure standing before him, Kurloz chirped softly and took a step forward, reaching out to touch Kankri's bleeding cheek. The omega was shaking, clearly confused and distressed, his ears pressed back against his skull. Kurloz shushed him gently, lapping against the shallow cut and healing it almost instantly, pulling Kankri gently forward until he felt his small hands press shakily against his chest.

"Prima?" He asked softly, Kurloz letting out a low hum.

"I am with you, Bella. I am sorry to have frightened you." He dipped down and nuzzled between his ears, pulling back just enough that he could see his face, examining his features for any other sign of injury. "Are you in pain, dearest?" Kankri pressed his hand over Kurloz's, leaning into his touch and shaking his head. Kurloz still was uncertain. In the moment that Gamzee had pressed against his mind too strongly and he had unwillingly cut his cheek he had lost a bit of time. He couldn't risk anything happening to his mate, or his pups. He crooned soft and low, one of his hands moving to press over the omega's swollen belly, his voice dropping an octave as his eyes burned with violet light, sensing for the growing pups' heartbeats with his majyyk. "Are you certain you are well?"

"I am well now, Prima…" He said quietly, his relief evident in his voice. Kurloz crooned softly, acknowledging his words, shifting forward to scoop him up while turning away from the pyre and stepping towards their den. The hushed voices of the clade rose up as they left the central pyre, Kurloz taking the winding footpath up to the cave tucked away in the heart of the inner sanctum. He wanted to be alone with his mate, as alone as he could be with Gamzee lulling within him. He knew Kanrki needed reassurances as well. The anxious omega began speaking to him softly again once they were alone, his hands pressed against Kurloz's chest and holding onto his dark fur tentatively. "For a moment, you were not yourself. Your eyes were strange to me." He reached up, petting across his Alpha's cheek, chirping when Kurloz dipped down to scent him.

"Gamzee dwells within me now. We are of one mind." He rubbed his cheek and jaw to the omega's nose and face, overwhelming him with soothing scents and willing him to relax as he continued to speak. "The bond is temporary, but it is strong. It will be some time before we are alone together again, dearest." He sighed heavily, his ears pivoting towards his Bella. "I have a duty to uphold, passed unto me from Our Father. I will rest with you tonight, but I must leave you at dawn."

Kankri chirped softly, one of his ears tilting to the side, reaching down to rub at his rounded tummy while watching his mate's eyes. "You're certain it will not be for long?"

"I am certain." Kurloz said, laying him down against the pile of blankets and crawling into the nest beside him, tugging him close to his chest. "I will return to you as soon as my duty has been fulfilled and Gamzee has found peace." He leaned in and nosed at Kankri's neck, lapping over his bondmark soothingly, his broad chest stirring with deep purrs while the omega crooned softly. "I will let no harm come to you, or to our pups. Trust in me." He met Kankri's eyes, the omega looking up at him hazily, panting softly and arching into his touch. "I will always protect you. Always."

"Alpha." Kankri whined breathlessly, tilting his head back and offering his neck submissively. Kurloz dipped down to lap at his scent glands again, purring and crooning until the small rouge was limp against his chest. He kept him close as he comforted him, his large palm resting over their pups, feeling them shift beneath his warm touch.

-x-x-x-

Sollux felt Mituna before he heard him, the air bristling with static electricity, a low, resonating hum filling the air. He clicked his tongue against his fangs and bolted across the outer sanctum towards their den, ducking inside and finding his broodmate collapsed on his knees, holding his head. Psionic energy pulsed around him in growing waves, the beta's voice stuttering with broken screeches as he dug his claws into his tawny fur. "It hurts, it hurts, it _hurts_!"

Sollux lifted his hand, flicking his wrist to the side and encasing the struggling psion in a shield, hissing softly and reaching out as he stepped through it, kneeling down beside his brother. "Mituna, look at me. You're alright, you're safe…"

"He's here! He's here, _he's coming_! It _hurts_! I can _feel_ him!" He hunched over closer to the ground, lightning crackling sharply throughout the cave as it snapped above him in increasing urgency. Sollux frowned, letting out a deep breath and thickening his shield until the sporadic bursts of energy were unable to reach the exterior of the glowing sphere. The distraught beta reached over to grasp at Sollux's forearm desperately, tugging him down to his eye level and jerking him with each word. "Kurloz. Is. _Here_."

"He's not here, Tuna, he's _not_." Sollux frowned, carefully prying his claws away and shifting to draw him up from his hunched position over the floor. "Listen to me, I know you could feel him, I could feel him too. It's over now, the pyre has burnt out."

Mituna shook his head desperately, keening and rocking back and forth, wrapping his arms around himself as the energy swelling around him snapped dangerously against the psionic shield. "Not listening, _not listening_!" His body jerked as he fought against the static overwhelming his mind, heaving as he pressed a hand against the floor before him, his whole body arching and letting off sparks of golden light. "He's coming, _he's coming for us_!"

"Tuna." Sollux's voice was soft, reaching over to rub up and down his back soothingly, carding his claws through his brother's tawny fur. "There's no one coming after us. We're safe here."

"Not safe. _Not safe_. It _hurts_." He reached up, clawing at his skull again and pinning his tall ears backwards. The large pinnae were streaked with silvery scars that mirrored the appearance of his lightning, the psion clawing at them continuously as they twitched against his skull. "He's coming. Coming to the Sea. _He's coming with Gamzee!_ "

Sollux arched his brow, saying gently, "Gamzee is dead. He's not coming, Mituna." He reached over and tried to gently pry his claws away from his scarred ears, crooning softly. "No one is coming for us."

"You have to _listen._ " Mituna arched his back suddenly and shrieked in pain, the sound ringing throughout the den, Sollux shushing him and rubbing his back in heavier passes as he took his brother's hand. His claws bit into Sollux's skin, the Alpha hissing softly at the intensity of his sharp grip, meeting his wide, glowing eyes and trying to reason with him once more.

"I'm listening, I'm listening. Just breathe. Be calm." He pet his brother's face, leaning closer and crooning while tugging Mituna against his chest, the older bat groaning and pressing his face against his neck, inhaling shakily.

" _Sollux_." He whispered softly, beginning to relax against him as his brother's claws traced up and down his back over and over, and eventually the energy lashing wildly at the shield began to lessen, withdrawing back inside the unstable beta and resonating with a low hum. Quieted for now, Sollux kept him tucked against his scent glands and glanced towards the entrance to the den, perking his ears towards the exterior and frowning. What could have set him off like this? He never had two storms brew in such rapid succession, not without cause, not once they were outside of danger. He knew part of his brother must be sensing _something_ upsetting, and Sollux held him close while stretching out his mind, feeling across the wide expanse of the Viridian Sea with a strange foreboding sensation.

Now that he wasn't solely focused on subduing his broodmate, Sollux could feel something sinister in the air. His hackles raised instinctively, a low growl beginning in his chest. It felt like a threat, something lurking beyond the sea to the west, emitting in rolling waves from the Makara clan. Mituna whimpered against him, trying to pull back, but Sollux tightened his grip, keeping him still. He turned and nuzzled against his temple, his psionics reaching out and wrapping around Mituna's fractured mind, coaxing his brother to relax, filling his thoughts with warm, fuzzy calm. The beta fought against him for a moment longer before keening softly and going limp against his shoulder. Sollux gathered him up, carrying his lanky body towards their shared pile, laying him down gently to rest. He hovered over his dazed broodmate, watching him with concern for a few moments longer before pulling away and heading outside, turning his gaze towards the horizon.

Mituna was right, Kurloz was coming. If it hadn't been for Mituna's sensitivity towards the Makara Alpha, Sollux might not have noticed his approach until it was too late. He had to warn Aradia while there was still time.

-x-x-x-

Tavros frowned, tilting his ears towards his palemate as he saw her tense. "Aradia?"

She lifted a hand, asking him to wait, her eyes swirling with silver as she listened. He stepped closer to her side, reaching out and taking her small hand gently, the omega wrapping her fingers around his and holding on lightly as she furrowed her brow, still silent. He exhaled softly through his nose, pivoting one of his ears towards the high arching ceiling of the dome surrounding him, feeling something drawing closer, static buzzing in the air. He turned to look across the fields, seeing several of his clutchmates had sensed the disturbance as well, talking amongst themselves and casting their eyes towards the ceiling far overhead. He knew that feeling, snorting softly and detangling their fingers gently while starting towards the entrance of the shrouded dome, gesturing for the guards to step away as he parted the dense reeds concealing them from the sea, stepping out into the heavy fog.

His bronze eyes darted upwards as he took a few steps further into the tall grass, surveying the foggy heights above the dome and calling out to the bat he could sense but still not see. "Sollux Captor. Why have you come here?"

The tawny bat descended to his side through the curling mist, his golden eyes crackling softly with red and blue sparks. "I came to warn you." He replied, touching down beside him, a low growl caught in the back of this throat, though Tavros could sense it was not meant for him. "Mituna felt it before I did, but I'm certain of this. Kurloz Makara is coming to the Viridian Sea. He will be upon us before the suns have begun to fall from the sky." He stared down the other Alpha, his fangs flashing as he spoke. "You must ready your insurgents for what is to come."

Tavros tilted an ear to the side, not breaking away from Sollux's piercing gaze, his voice low and deep as he spoke. "Do not pretend you came here for myself or my clade. You came here for Aradia." The golden Alpha narrowed his eyes a bit, and as his growl deepened Tavros growled as well, rising to meet his challenge, taking a step closer and curling back his lips to bare his fangs.

Aradia's chirp pierced the air as she rushed between them, holding out a palm towards each of the Alphas, looking between them worriedly. "Stop it! Both of you! This is not the time to be bickering amongst ourselves!" She shifted closer to Tavros, pressing against his side and chirping up at him softly, pawing at his chest until the bronze Alpha quieted and let out an angry snort. She nuzzled against him as he wrapped an arm around her protectively, Sollux watching them with barely concealed disgust before tearing his eyes away, letting his vocals slowly quiet as he listened to Aradia's words. "Thank you for coming here. At this distance the energy is still faint, and with my abilities I would not have noticed it prior to it drawing closer. We need all the time we can get to direct those who cannot fight to shelter safely underground." She was quiet for a moment longer, then stepped away from her palemate and crossed the small distance to reach Sollux's side, standing before him and asking gently, "Can I ask you this favor?"

The psion was unresponsive, but gradually turned his eyes to look down at her. She tilted her ears back, watching him with a little frown, Sollux letting out a deep exhale while pivoting his ears towards her. "Ask."

She lifted her ears a bit, watching him hesitantly, then asked, "Would you be willing to take the humans from this place, and guide them north to the river?" She glanced back at Tavros for a moment before turning her sights to Sollux once more. "We have sent Rufioh word of their presence here, but I fear with Kurloz searching for them they will not be safe amongst us, even within the hive's labyrinth of tunnels. If Kurloz finds this place..."

"He will slaughter you all." Sollux said softly, Aradia nodding and watching him closely.

"There are families here, Sollux. Pups." She reached out gently, fingerpads brushing against his tawny fur, eyes searching. "Do this for me? Please?" She dipped her ears back a bit again, offering her neck submissively. "I will give you whatever you may desire in exchange for this kindness."

Tavros tensed, watching their interaction uneasily, fighting everything within himself not to growl at the other Alpha as he reached for his palemate. Aradia pressed her hands to the tawny bat's chest as he nuzzled between her ears, slowly dipping to press his face against her neck and inhaling deeply, his golden eyes looking up towards Tavros with a barely veiled threat.

"I am in your debt." Aradia said softly, twittering as Sollux scented her. She smoothed her hands across his chest and up to his shoulders, wrapping her arms around his neck and arching against him, giving him what she knew he wanted. They had done this many times before, but it had been quite some time since they had last embraced, and even after several long moments Sollux made no move to pull away, breathing deeply against her neck. She was soft and warm, her scent sweet and alluring as it always was. He lingered there for a while longer before eventually relenting, feeling his chest draw tight as he forced himself to break away, sickening jealousy twisting inside of him.

"Bring them to me." He said softly as he gradually stepped back, looking down at her with a guarded expression. "I will do as you ask."

"Thank you." Aradia whispered, headbutting beneath his jaw gently and turning towards Tavros, giving him a stern look before turning towards the dome and rushing beyond the reeds. The two Alphas stood opposite one another, staring one another down for several long, tense moments, before Tavros broke away his eyes and headed towards the reeds as well.

As he pushed them aside, stepping between them and into the dome, he felt psionics snap in the air behind him, his shoulders tensing instinctively at the sudden noise. He ignored the other Alpha and continued after Aradia, clenching his jaw tightly as he fought everything within him not to turn around and lash out at the other bat. Aradia didn't want them to fight, and Tavros cared more about her than he ever had her former palemate. He would scent her thoroughly as soon as Sollux and the humans were gone, ridding her of all lingering remnants of the other Alpha's claim. She was _his_ now. Their bond was strong. Nothing could break them apart.

-x-x-x-

John blinked open his eyes slowly, biting his lip and letting out a soft sound of want as he pressed back against Dave, the other boy kissing at his nape slowly. He stretched, arching back against the blonde's chest as he yawned before relaxing atop the soft, warm blankets, humming at his gentle touch. His breath hitched as Dave petted down his side and kneaded at his hip, then shifted lower to wrap his long fingers around his semi. He breathed softly against John's shoulder, rubbing his cock against the younger boy's plush cheeks, the dark-headed boy shivering pleasantly beneath him. Dave kept stroking him slowly as John's cock filled, working him up with wandering lips across his neck and teasing fingertips along his foreskin. John pressed back against him, rocking his hips and biting his lip to keep quiet. It felt good, and he wanted more, but Karkat was asleep beside them and John didn't want to disturb him while he rested, embarrassment hot across his cheeks as Dave purred against his ear.

"You gonna let me inside ya, darlin'?" He kissed his neck slowly, John whining softly and glancing back at him, Dave's expression absolutely lecherous as he pressed his weeping cock between John's cheeks teasingly. "Been wantin' ta fill ya up again since that first night on the bridge…"

"Dave!" John chided softly, biting his lip and flicking his eyes towards Karkat. The Fein was breathing evenly beside him, the rise and fall of his chest steady and rhythmic, his back to John as he curled slightly in on himself. "Karkat is _right there_!"

"So? Let him watch." The blonde said with a grin, kissing at John's neck insistently and tugging his hips backwards, smearing precum along the cleft of his ass. "I wouldn't even mind if he joined. Would you?"

The very thought of it had John gasping and closing his eyes, rocking his hips back against Dave and shivering as he started stroking faster, bucking his hips against his hand and moaning. Dave slipped his fingers between John's cheeks, prodding with his fingertips and slicking his precum against that tight ring of muscle before gradually pushing a finger inside. The older boy took his time, rubbing gently against his sphincter, willing John's body to relax beneath his touch. He kept stroking John as he slicked his fingers with more precum then pressed two digits slowly inside, the smaller boy arching his back and gasping as Dave started fucking into him slow and deep, scissoring against his clenching walls.

"Breathe sweetheart, I've got ya…" Dave whispered against his neck, kissing and sucking as he worked John open, the younger boy rutting against his hand with growing urgency, panting softly as he stared at Karkat's shoulder absently, trying to keep his voice quiet. He rocked into Dave's hands, looking over his shoulder at him and twisting slightly while tilting his face up, the taller boy leaning over him and giving him a kiss. He felt Dave smiling against his lips as he curled his fingers _just right_ , John's whole body seized up with overwhelming pleasure while gasping into his mouth. "That's it, just like that…"

" _Dave_." John whispered against his lips, the blonde pulling out his fingers and guiding his cock between his cheeks, pressing the tip against his entrance and pushing inside with one fluid motion. Blue eyes going wide, John scrambled to grasp at the blankets as Dave started fucking into him slowly, the older boy muffling his groans against John's flushed skin. He slapped a hand over John's mouth as the younger boy moaned loudly, continuously stroking his cock with the other. He chuckled softly against John's shoulder, enjoying his muffled sounds, slicking John's precum along his foreskin, tugging it back gently so he could tease deft fingertips against his swollen glans. He traced over the weeping slit, John twitching and moaning against his palm as Dave fucked him slow and deep, clenching around him and focusing on Karkat with a soft gasp when the Fein shifted slightly in his sleep.

Karkat rolled over a bit, his lips parted as he breathed out little puffs of air, John's whole body shaking as Dave found his prostate and prodded against it repeatedly. Between him jerking his cock and bucking directly against his sweet spot, John was a trembling, overstimulated wreck. He tensed, closing his hazy eyes and arching back against Dave, whining helplessly as he felt himself ascending, just about to cum.

"John?" Karkat chirped softly, and his eyes flew open, moaning loudly as he spilled over Dave's hand, unable to stop himself from cumming. He clenched hard around Dave's cock as the blonde moaned into his ear, continuing to buck into him through his climax. John couldn't see for several moments, his vision blinded by the intensity of his orgasm, his whole body wracked with shudders. He whined and moaned against Dave's hand as the older boy bucked into him, his hips starting to stutter, not deterred at all by the fact that they were being watched. Karkat inhaled sharply, meeting John's eyes as the human looked over at him desperately, reaching up and tugging Dave's hand away from his mouth so he could pant for air, the blonde moaning out louder against his shoulder as he sought out his own release.

"K-Karkat, I-" He gasped as he arched against Dave's chest again, the other boy grunting and biting down against his shoulder as he climaxed, filling him with hot bursts of thick cum. John moaned and shuddered at the feeling, his face completely red, panting as he searched Karkat's eyes, the Fein shifting a little closer, his face flushed as well.

"Are you breeding?" He asked breathlessly, John biting his lip and closing his eyes, shuddering at the searing heat washing over him inside and out, making his toes curl. Karkat reached out, pressing a hand to John's chest and twittering at feeling his heartbeat pounding against his palm, Dave panting softly in John's ear as he basked in afterglow.

"Yeah, yeah you could say that…" The older boy drawled once he could speak, chuckling softly as John wriggled his hips back against him, kissing at his abused shoulder and meeting Karkat's red eyes. He sighed contentedly as John clenched around him, reaching up and smearing John's cum against his taut stomach, marking his skin with his own release. "Two male humans can't produce offspring, but _damn_ if it doesn't feel amazing anyway." He kneaded against the warm bump he could feel pressing against his palm, John whining and rocking back against his cock, pressing him deeper inside. Dave was already twitching and ready for more, the blonde leaning over to kiss John's lips hungrily. "You want more, sweetheart? I'm ready if you are."

" _Karkat_." John whined insistently, and Dave grinned as he looked towards the Fein, quirking his brow suggestively.

"Do you want to watch?" He asked casually, searching the bat's wide eyes. Karkat didn't reply, but made a soft curious sound as he perked his ears towards them, red eyes never leaving Dave's. Taking that as non-verbal consent, Dave chuckled and started to move, Karkat watching them intensely, claws pressing into the blankets and twisting tighter with each passing moment. John made a soft squeak against his lips as Dave bent down to claim his mouth again, moaning as the blonde kissed him slowly, starting to roll his hips after only a moment's hesitation. The sound that left Karkat was more twittering birdsong than discernible speech, Dave chuckling softly against John's lips before pulling back and kissing at his shoulder once more. He groaned openly as he quickened his pace, no longer trying to hide his voice, John crying out loudly and reaching for Karkat as Dave coaxed against his ear, "That's it, darlin'. Let me hear your cute little voice callin' out for me."

"Dave! Dave, _ah_!" He whined and pressed his face against Karkat's neck as the bat drew closer, the Fein chirping softly and nuzzling into his dark hair, inhaling his scent. He petted the rouge bat's soft fur while arching against his chest, meeting his eyes and panting softly, his ears ringing with the sounds of his staggered breathing and racing pulse. Karkat seemed more than interested, but he still hadn't said a word, and John couldn't relax not knowing. He had to be sure. "Karkat, is this...?" He whined and arched his brow, Dave distracting him enough that he was losing his train of thought as the older boy teased his throbbing cock. "Is this okay?"

The bat didn't answer with words, chirping softly and dipping down to press his mouth to John's, the human gasping softly against him. John relaxed against his chest, tugging him closer and wrapping his arms around his neck as they kissed, Dave groaning at the sight and fucking into John harder. He moaned into Karkat's mouth, the Fein shivering and gingerly reciprocating his fervent kisses, careful with his fangs as John traced against his tongue with his own. Dave chuckled to himself, endlessly amused at the burgeoning dynamics growing between them, licking his lips and feeling the heat in the pit of his stomach start coiling tighter. He reached around to wrap his fingers around John again while the other boy continued to kiss the omega, Dave's eyes on them, watching the whole time. He stroked John quickly as wet slaps filled the den, the smaller boy crying out against Karkat's mouth with each sharp thrust, tightening his grip in his soft fur as he bucked into Dave's hand and rocked his hips back against his cock.

"Fuck you feel so good, darlin'. You're wound so damn _tight_." Dave huffed and shifted his hand down to cup his testes, rolling them against his palm and tugging gently as he shifted his hips to find a deeper angle. When he started thrusting into John again the smaller boy was ecstatic, screaming eagerly against Karkat's tongue as his whole body started shaking, his hypersensitive nerves ablaze.

Karkat pulled back a bit, panting softly and looking to Dave, concern etched into his features. "You're not hurting him?" He asked, John hiding his face against his neck and moaning brokenly, Dave chuckling and shaking his head as he met Karkat's eyes.

"Nah, baby. He's feelin' good right now. _Real_ fuckin' good…" He shifted to toss the blanket bunched around their waists down towards their ankles so Karkat could actually _see_ what they were doing, the Fein's eyes widening as he leaned closer, chirping curiously. Dave wrapped his long fingers around John's weeping cock once more, thrusting into him roughly and giving him a few slow strokes as Karkat watched their bodies moving in tandem, his large ears twitching back and forth. The bat's face was flushed and his nostrils kept flaring, licking his lips as he breathed in their pheromones, his eyes dilating drastically at their scents. He warbled softly, leaning closer, clawtips trailing across John's upper thigh and petting lightly against his warm skin, his eyes focusing on Dave's hand as he worked quickly over John's cock.

"Karkat…" John panted softly, blue irises meeting red as the bat looked up and held his heated gaze, the human searching his dilated eyes for a long moment before pulling him down for another kiss. Dave moaned against his shoulder, his voice rising as his rhythm became sporadic, John's breath hitching as Dave tapped quickly against his prostate with each thrust. "Fuck, _fuck I'm gonna cum_ …!"

Karkat twittered and shifted closer, pressing their foreheads together, rubbing against John's thigh slowly and chirping as he arched dramatically between them, Dave stroking him through his release. The Fein shivered and crooned, his expression hungry as he licked his lips, nostrils flaring and his eyes completely dark. He nuzzled John as the human whined and pawed at his chest, Dave groaning as he gave a few more quick thrusts then spilled inside him, panting harshly. He found John's hand after a moment of searching and linked their fingers, chuckling with amusement as he met Karkat's eyes, the bat watching them lay together with obvious desire. Dave looked up at him with a lazy, satisfied smirk curled across his lips, whispering softly to him as he leaned up for a kiss. "C'mere baby. You look so pretty all flustered."

Karkat chirped and ducked his ears back a bit, leaning over John's shoulder to meet Dave's lips. John rested between them, watching them kiss slowly as Dave rolled his hips languidly against his ass, John squeezing around him tightly and letting out a soft, heated moan. "Mmh Dave, too sensitive…"

Dave pulled back from Karkat's lips and gently moved to withdraw from the boy beneath him, humming and kissing at his cheek and shoulder before rolling onto his back with a satisfied huff. Karkat hovered at John's shoulder, his pinnae twitching towards the blonde curiously, his eyes wandering down Dave's naked frame. John smiled and pet at his chest gently, redirecting the bat's attention and tugging him closer so he could rest his cheek to his shoulder lightly. 

He was quiet for a while, enjoying the calm warmth curling through him from head to toe, then asked softly while looking up at Karkat, "Did you...did you like watching us?"

The Fein chirped, his skin flushed as he gave a little nod, leaning down to press his nose to John's messy hair once again. John wrapped his arms around him, petting down his back gently and tilting his face up for a soft kiss, shifting one hand down to Karkat's hip and rubbing circles at the curve of his pelvis. Eventually Dave shifted from his reclined position to sit up in bed, stretching his arms over his head and sighing pleasantly, tapping at his scanner and blinking to focus his vision as his holovisor appeared before his eyes. He crossed his legs, lifting his hands to start typing against the air, humming softly as he began working on his data entry, John glancing back at him over his shoulder.

"Still working on that weapon schematic?" He asked curiously, Karkat looking up at him as well.

"You're forging a weapon?" He perked his ears towards the blonde, tilting one to the side curiously. "Would it be like your blade?"

"That's the plan." Dave looked over at them both, grinning impishly before returning to his work. John shifted against the blankets, sitting up beside him while tapping his scanner as well, his spectacles flickering before his eyes and showing him a live feed of the code Dave was working on. There were blueprint models in the accompanying files, John flicking his fingertips across his sights and bringing the research documents into view. They were all from Dirk's personal archives, and they were so complex John could barely understand them. They were lucky to have Dave with them, his engineering skills were exceptional.

Karkat watched the humans with a small, affectionate smile, content to lay beside them while they focused on their project and rest a while longer, but something wasn't right. There was something unsettling lingering in the air, something Karkat couldn't quite place. It wasn't long before he bolted upright, frowning and getting quickly to his feet, padding towards the entrance to the den. Someone was approaching, and in a hurry. What was going on?

John and Dave both turned to watch him go, surprised at his sudden movements, Karkat's voice sounding from the lounge room before a softer voice responded. "Is that Aradia?" John asked, Dave nodding and returning to his calculations, the dark-headed boy slipping from the twisted blankets and reaching for one of the discarded sarongs. The embroidered fabric was still slightly damp from swimming the day before. He wrapped the dark silk around his waist and tied it at his hip before stepping towards the fire, blue eyes watching the two Fein conversing hurriedly back and forth beneath the slightly raised canvas, Karkat holding it up with one hand and gesturing with the other.

"Now? Right now?" He seemed taken back, still in disbelief of something the smaller omega had spoken just before John was within earshot.

Aradia nodded, reaching out and touching his forearm, her voice worried as she warbled urgently. "Now, while there is still time. Please, you must go."

Karkat turned to look back at John as he approached, the human frowning a little and asking while glancing between them, "Is something wrong?"

Karkat clicked his tongue against his fangs and dipped his ears back as he said in an uneven tone, "Kurloz is coming. He's looking for Dave." He stepped away from Aradia, walking towards the fire to stand at John's side. "There is someone who will guide us north to the Indigo River dividing the northern and southern territories. He will see us safely there, so we can continue on through the vast meadowlands stretching northwards." He looked to Aradia as he spoke, recounting the words she had previously spoken. "We must cross the fields until we reach the mountain range sheltering the giant dome encompassing High Society." Karkat looked to the human once more, then past John to Dave, the other human peeking out around the reeds dividing the two rooms and listening silently. "We must get you both to Rufioh before hope of the rebellion is lost. If Kurloz manages to find this place, the losses would be devastating."

"I am sorry we could not shelter you longer." Aradia said, her voice soft as she looked to John and Karkat, then Dave. "If it were any other threat Tavros and I would be able to handle them without endangering those sheltered here, but Kurloz is in another league." She looked to Karkat. "We will meet him in the sea, lead him away from the clade with help from the hive and give you time to escape to the north." She looked worried, but gave them a smile anyway as she added, "Hopefully he will lose interest in finding the dome and follow you towards High Society, or give up his search for now and return to his own clade. Either way it should allow adequate time for the rebellion to prepare a counterstrike."

John nodded, glancing back towards Dave to see he had disappeared around the corner again, turning to leave Karkat and Aradia in the main room while hurriedly following after him. The astronauts re-equipped their gear methodically, fastening buckles and boots and securing their goggles and breathing masks before retrieving their bags. Karkat watched them anxiously, flicking his ears towards the slightest noises as he frowned and chittered under his breath, John walking over to him and brushing his gloved fingers against his arm. Dave walked past them a moment later, ducking under the canvas and greeting Aradia, John and Karkat following closely behind him. They hurried from the inner sanctum, running past the spring basin and quickly across the crop fields, John glancing around before tapping his sights and calling out for Rose. She didn't appear, but her voice responded to his call, the A.I. chiming up against his ear as if she were standing beside him.

" _Greetings, Captain._ "

"Rose? Where are you?" He paused to look across the fields one last time before Karkat tugged him along, the lanterns along the footpath fading from view as they left the hidden clade behind them.

Karkat parted the dense reeds to allow them outside, John stepping out into the foggy marsh right behind him. It took only a moment for John to look up, surprised to find Rose was already there, apparently waiting on their arrival. She was standing beside Tavros and a Fein he didn't recognize, the tall, sinewy golden bat frowning lightly as he watched the A.I. with mild disquiet. Rose was humming to herself while gingerly examining the clustered lightning within his palm, gathering data from the fluctuations vibrating through the surrounding air with a bright smile. "I'm here, John." She said simply as she looked up and met his blue eyes, then she returned her attention to the growing data collection before her optics, leaning closer to the lightning. Aradia stepped up beside her, pressing close to Tavros' side while perking her ears towards her moirail, the bronze Alpha looking down at her fondly before redirecting his attention to the tawny bat Rose was examining.

"Alright. You must go." Tavros' voice was a bit rougher than usual, a tense air between him and the other large Fein. The tawny bat flicked an ear to the side, snorting irritably, Aradia frowning slightly as she glanced between them, Rose seemingly unconcerned. Eventually Tavros spoke up again, Rose looking back at him as he directed his words to her. "Thank you for everything you have done. Our crops will flourish with your guidance."

"I am happy to assist." She pulled away from the tawny bat and he dropped his arm, the crackling lightning dissipating. Bright golden eyes glanced towards Karkat as Rose stepped away, and John could feel him tense under the larger bat's gaze. The human stepped a bit closer and squeezed his hand gently, trying to reassure him as best he could, glancing towards the A.I. again as Rose spoke to Tavros and Aradia. "Thank you for sheltering us, we would have been lost without your care."

Aradia gave her a smile and chirped softly, Tavros letting out a soft croon as well. They looked to the three others watching, Aradia stepping back over to them before reaching for Dave, the astronaut embracing her for a moment before saying farewell. "Take care, little lady. Stay out of trouble."

"Be safe." She said softly, looking to Karkat and John. "I wish all of you health and happiness." She hesitated only a moment before stepping over to Karkat and reaching out to touch his chest, dipping her ears back and offering him a little smile. He held her gaze for a long moment then exhaled through his nose and shifted to wrap his arms around her, nuzzling her as she chirped happily and brushed her cheek against his. Karkat pulled back and she turned to hug John as well before stepping away from them, looking towards the tall bat watching them who had not yet opted to speak. "This is Sollux." She said, gesturing to the golden Fein who tilted one of his large ears towards her reflexively. "He is the acting Prima of the clutch north of the Viridian Sea, and he holds my absolute trust." She searched his eyes for a long moment before turning back to the three watching her. "He will keep you safe until you reach the river. After that you will be on your own." She looked to Karkat, the rouge bat focusing on her intently as she directed their escape path. "Head directly north, do not stray east towards the beaches for fear of your life. Those loyal to the Empress control the coastal regions and you would be captured should they find you within their territories." She dipped her ears a bit, her eyes swirling with silver as she envisioned the path in her mind, describing it to him. "The forest to the northwest beyond the Indigo River is neutral territory. Should you find yourself in danger, seek refuge with the Leijon heiresses. They have long been my friends and I have faith they will not allow you to fall prey to the Makara heir should he pursue you there, but do not linger for long." She took a deep breath, continuing. "When you reach the northernmost mountains, you will find High Society at the crater in the center of the range, high above the plains and the open sea. There is a path across the canyon at the foot of the mountains, but it will be guarded by the Highblood's believers. The cultists watch over the largest gateway into society, though there are rumours of smaller, hidden pathways that can be taken along the mountains that are known by scarce few. Rufioh will find a way to reach you there, and take you under his wing where Kurloz cannot find you." Her majyyk faded a moment later, her eyes returning to deep cherry as she perked her ears once more. "Rufioh Nitram is a massive, bronze veiled Alpha." She looked to her moirail, the somber Alpha shifting and stretching out the webbings under his arms and across his sides, "He shares the same mutation as Tavros. He will not be hard to recognize."

Rose chimed softly as she circled around Sollux, the tawny bat following her with his eyes and frowning as he spoke, his tone terse and his voice deep as he looked to Tavros and Aradia. "If we are leaving we need to do this now."

Aradia nodded, stepping back and allowing the golden bat to approach. Karkat took a step back instinctively, and Dave stepped ahead instead, offering him a translator from his chest compartment. Sollux accepted it from him warily, following Dave's instructions and sliding it into place, the translator synchronizing with the rest and glowing with electric blue light. Once Dave was satisfied he nodded and gave the Fein a thumbs-up, the bat watching him for a long moment before moving. He reached out a hand, wrapping his spindly claws around Dave's arm, tugging him effortlessly into the air. They ascend through the fog with a snap of lightning, quickly travelling in a high arch above the overgrown, concealed dome. John looked to Karkat, the rouge clicking his tongue and chittering quietly before glancing towards Aradia. He hesitated briefly, then asked, "You trust him?"

"I trust him." She said softly, arching her brow a bit before adding, "He was my palemate, before Tavros. He will do as I've asked."

Tavros let out a deep exhale, stepping up and brushing his hand against Aradia's upper back between her shoulder blades, his bronze eyes on Karkat as well. "You do not need to fear him. He may be brusque, but he is loyal. He will keep the three of you safe."

Karkat frowned deeply, shivering a bit but nodding, taking John's hand and tugging him up with him as he kicked off into the air. Rose zipped past them in her holosprite form, following the ascent of the pair before them, violet light trailing behind her. Once they had ascended high enough the fog faded away into bright daylight, large billowing clouds rolling across the pale blue skies with the white suns high overhead, Karkat quickly catching up to the other Fein. Dave looked back at them as he floated along beside the large bat, giving John and Karkat a little wave, John smiling and waving back to him from his place beside Karkat. The rouge kept a bit of distance, eyeing the other Fein warily, John tugging at his fingers gently until Karkat glanced down at him.

"Are you okay?" He asked, shifting his gravity a bit so he was better aligned with Karkat's shoulder.

"I'm fine." He said softly, glancing towards Dave and Sollux. "Alphas always make me a bit nervous, but if Aradia trusts him…" He looked to John again. "I will try to as well."

Alpha. John looked to the other bat, marveling at the way his golden fur shone brilliantly beneath the blinding sunlight. He had been wielding some sort of energy before, and John tapped at his sights, calling for Rose above the rush of the passing breeze. "Rose, the lightning you were examining before. What exactly was that?"

The sprite circled down to him, flying at his shoulder while her voice greeted his ears. "The energy fluctuations are psionic in nature." Data filled his sights as she spoke, highlighting various readings and listing the findings she had gathered during their brief interaction. "This Light Majyyk appears to be electrical currents emitted from within the Fein's bloodstream, initial combustion commencing with fluctuations of both mental and physical pressures against the atmosphere."

"Majyyk…" John whispered, more to himself than to her, flicking his fingertips against the air and reading through the data with disbelief, fascinated by what she had managed to collect in such a short amount of time. It was amazing to see first-hand, and somehow it made it that much more real, looking at a scientific breakdown of the manipulated energy the Fein could somehow miraculously wield. It must come as easily to him as breathing. John wondered what other types of majyyk existed. He also wondered, glancing towards Karkat, why some Fein had majyyk inherently, and others apparently did not.

Karkat shivered a bit at his side, drawing his attention, the human dismissing his sights and focusing on the clouds surrounding them. He could feel something stirring in the air, like static before a thunderstorm. He looked to the tawny bat slightly ahead of them and noticed his fur was standing on end, bristling with red and blue sparks. John arched his brow a bit, wondering how well the translator would hold up to sudden sporadic power surges. Guess there was only one way to find out. Dave was typing one-handed while they flew across the sky, still working on his schematic no doubt. Karkat kept close behind them, John floating quietly at his side.

They continued heading north, the pressure in the air growing steadily, thunder rumbling in the distance. Suddenly Sollux stopped mid-air, jerking Dave against his side defensively. The bat pivoted his ears as he listened, looking around frantically before veering to the side, shoving Karkat out of the way while simultaneously lifting a glowing spherical shield around them. A bolt of golden lighting soared past them, crashing in the distance with a thunderous crack. Another bolt followed immediately after, then another, the Alpha growling loudly and looking down at Karkat, the omega watching with wide eyes.

"It's alright." He said through grit fangs, "Those weren't meant for us. It's my broodmate, Mituna." He sighed heavily, his voice strained. "His psionics are unstable. I must go to him now, before he gets any worse." He offered Dave's hand to the smaller Fein, Karkat reaching over and taking hold of his wrist as the Alpha watched him. "Can you handle them both?"

"I've got them." Karkat replied with a little nod, Rose's sprite surging forward through the cloudbank towards the direction the bolts had fired from, Sollux flying after her. Karkat stared after the other Fein, the golden shield left behind by the psion encompassing them still and floating around them steadily, shielding them from the strength of the passing gale and the rising energy in the air. The glowing light tinted Karkat's dark rouge fur a vivid, fiery red, nearly matching the color of his irises beneath the bright sunlight. The two humans and their Fein companion floated together quietly, Karkat debating on what he should do, before John shifted into action.

After several moments of silence he let go of Karkat's hand, taking Dave's instead and meeting the Fein's vermillion eyes. "I can fly with Dave," he said, Karkat watching him with a worried expression. "Really, I've got this. Go see if you can help."

"Keep heading north." Karkat said, searching his eyes before looking to Dave, "Do not stop or land until one of us comes back for you. I will send Rose back to you if something should happen." He dipped his ears back a bit, his tone serious and soft. "Do not turn back for me, no matter what."

"Karkat." Dave frowned, keeping ahold of his hand. "Don't go if it's unsafe. We don't want you to get hurt."

"Everywhere is unsafe." Karkat replied with a little frown, slowly pulling away. "Let me try to help. They're risking everything for us. It's the least I can do to repay them."

Dave held his gaze for a long moment before nodding lightly, John watching their exchange with concern before focusing on Karkat. "Come back to us." He said gently, Karkat offering him a small, affectionate smile.

"I will."

-x-x-x-

Sollux landed hard, racing across the final distance separating him from Mituna. He lifted his hand and clenched his fist, encompassing the larger bat in a lotus-shell shield, packing layer upon layer of psionics around him. Mituna screamed and released another series of lightning flashes, sending beams of light out across the grasslands towards the west, his eyes burning wildly as he continued forward. He walked what little distance he could until he collided with the circumference of Sollux's shield, his steps slowing dramatically but continuing to push forward, fighting defiantly against that restricting energy with all of his might.

"Tuna!" Sollux shouted above their clashing energies, but the other psion was too far gone, his mind nothing more than jumbled fragments of broken memory. "Mituna, I'm here! Listen to me!"

"Hurts. _Hurts_." His voice was fractured dissonance, echoing within the cracking shield as he took another step forward. "Make it stop! _Make it stop! Kurloz!"_

Sollux let out a loud chirp, trying to draw his attention, to do _something_ , but what could he possibly do? Mituna was older, stronger, and had trained directly under their sire for ages before Sollux had been old enough to start learning how to control his abilities. When it came down to testing their psionics in sparring matches, between the two of them Mituna would undoubtedly win, every single time. The only reason Sollux could even compare to him now was due to the extensive injuries Mituna had sustained, the innate control he had lost that had never recovered. As destructive as Kurloz's voodoos could be, Mituna was lucky to have survived. Sollux on the other hand was in complete control at all times. It made his tactical precision deadly, and gave him just enough of an edge to overpower Mituna when he was like this, but only just. He had never seen his broodmate this desperate to fight against the Makara heir before. Kurloz had always brought out the worst in him.

Sollux felt an unfamiliar presence land beside him suddenly, jerking around to fix the other bat in his sights. The little rouge looked up at him with wide eyes before directing his gaze towards Mituna, taking a step closer and letting out a warbled, breathless note. The energy here must be immense for him. Sollux was surprised the smaller bat had followed him, and even more so that he could somehow find the strength to remain upright. Sollux reached out with his other hand instinctively to shelter him, flicking his fingertips towards the omega, a golden bubble encircling him and shielding him from most of the energy in the air. Karkat blinked in surprise and glanced around for a moment, examining the glowing barrier, then looked up at Sollux with a light frown.

"What can I do?" He asked, turning his red eyes once more to Mituna and tilting his ears back slightly. "Is there any way I can help you calm him?"

"No, there's nothing." Sollux hissed and looked to Mituna once more while he tightened his clenched fist, the layers of the lotus-shell shield beginning to crumble against the psion's unparalleled forces. "Even I cannot contain him when he's like this. He's been unstable since the pyre. There's little I can do, save hope he stabilizes once he has released more of his energy." He flicked one ear irritably, exhaling a snort. "Until then we have to wait." Karkat jerked back slightly as Mituna let out a sharp shout and pressed forward again, breaking past the disintegrating barrier. Sollux shielded the omega behind him and lifted his arm again, raising another layered lotus around his brother as soon as the first fell, trying to call out to him again. " _Mituna!_ "

Karkat watched with wide eyes, looking in the direction the bolts were firing, hearing their thunderous points of impact to the west, an unmistakable shiver passing up his spine. It felt like Gamzee, but that couldn't be right. Gamzee was dead. He'd witnessed it. There was no way he survived. The omega grit his teeth, his shoulder aching dully as he reached up and kneaded over where the bite mark had once been, his throat drawing tight. His frown deepened, the rouge bat narrowing his eyes to peer through the mist, the fog curling and rolling in massive waves away from each beam of light. The more he focused the more he could clearly see indigo smoke rising up from the levelled grasses, curling up towards the light, Mituna pushing it backwards with each blast. Karkat chirped, getting Sollux's attention and pointing out towards the black shadows within the swirling fog, an icy shiver running up his spine as a tall figure emerged into view. _Kurloz_.

" _Damn it all_." Sollux hissed, Mituna breaking through his shield once more as he was distracted, the psionics around him searing through the air and billowing the thick fog and indigo smoke backwards across the flattened grasses. It created a clearing spanning out widely around them in almost a perfect circle, Karkat's fur standing on end as he watched the pitch Alpha approach.

He was staring at Mituna, lime-green light churning in his irises, violet flames curling up from his shoulders and lapping against the damp air. His black fur was dripping with molten tar, each step forward leaving a path of dead grass and toxic sludge in his wake. The way he sauntered, the way his steps swayed mindlessly and his mouth was twisted into a terrifying grin, it _screamed_ Gamzee. Karkat had never been more scared of anything in his life. This wasn't Kurloz, this was some unholy myriad of both of the heirs twisted together. He pressed against Sollux's side to hide himself with a terrified chirp, the tawny bat looking down at him with a concerned frown.

"You've never witnessed Blood Majyyk before?" He asked quietly, Karkat shaking his head slowly, hackles raised. The tawny Alpha exhaled a soft snort, turning back to watch as his brother continued approaching the distorted heir, Kurloz advancing as well to meet him. Lightning whipped forward from Mituna with a sharp crack and slammed against the shadowed bat, disembodied howls filling the air as Kurloz's voodoos rose to greet it, midnight indigo clashing with golden light and forcing the psion back. Sollux lifted a hand towards the Highblood's heir, red and blue lightning twisting down his arm as he fired a shot, Mituna releasing a bolt as well. The primary colors melted together, slamming into Kurloz hard, knocking him backwards and sending him flying off through the fog. Sollux darted ahead to his broodmate's side while Karkat stood where he was, frozen in place, his psionic shield glinting in the muted sunlight as it encircled his trembling frame.

As Sollux grabbed his brother's forearms and tugged him away, Mituna growled and shoved blindly at his brother, trying to turn towards where Kurloz had fallen and pursue him into the fog. The Alpha immediately growled back and snapped his jaws threateningly, the beta blinking up at him and slowly stilling, his ears laying back a bit as he focused on Sollux for the first time. Mituna's breath was little more than ragged panting, his pupils blown wide as he reached out and clung to his brother's chest, whining and tugging Sollux closer. "Kurloz. _Kurloz is here_."

"I know, Tuna. I know." The tawny Alpha knocked their foreheads together gently, lightning sparking between them.

After a brief moment of hesitation he glanced over his shoulder towards Karkat. The rouge bat was looking out through the fog as well, his eyes wide and his ears pinned back. Damn it if he hadn't promised Aradia he would protect them, and would do his utmost to fulfill his oath, but he couldn't handle calming Mituna and fleeing from Kurloz while counterattacking at the same time. It was just too much.

"Omega." He called, Karkat flinching and looking over at him with a little chirp. "Come here. Quickly." The smaller bat bounded over to him, looking up at him with wide eyes, tilting one of his ears to the side. Sollux drew his gaze from the smaller Fein and looked to his brother, reaching out and pressing his fingertips against his brow. He sent a shockwave of light through the beta that had Mituna gasping sharply, his golden eyes turning white. "This omega is your charge. You are not to leave his side. Follow him wherever he may go." He pulled his fingers from Mituna's forehead, drawing them slowly through the air and pressing them to Karkat's breastplate, a symbol appearing against his rouge fur and burning brightly before fading away. He pulled back after the command was sealed, Sollux meeting those wide, red eyes as calmly as he could. This omega was trusting Sollux with his life, and the lives of his companions. For now, he would entrust him with his brother. "Your nameright is Karkat?" He asked, the rouge bat watching him with an unreadable expression before gingerly replying.

"Yes." He breathed softly, shivering under the Alpha's gaze as Sollux continued to watch him, red and blue sparks firing between his irises and zipping across his golden fur.

"Mituna will follow you. Go now." He looked towards the west, hackles raising as he began across the clearing and into the dense, rolling fog, leaving the other two bats in the clearing behind him. "I will handle Kurloz."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! More to come!


	14. Alliance

Tavros grit his teeth, assessing the damage. Kurloz hadn't found the clade luckily enough, the dome still hidden safely within the sea, but he had managed to damage the surrounding hives extensively before he was distracted by pulses of light to the north. Aradia was doing her best to heal what creatures she could, but even she could only do so much for the swarm. Tarvos could feel them, experiencing the intensity of their pain as he wove through the hive's mental links, flitting from one cluster to the next. His summoner capabilities sifted psychically through the underground tunnels, soaring across the expanse of grassland and marshes, evaluating and calculating losses as he went.

He could feel Aradia whispering in the back of his mind, but he could barely focus on her as he swept across the sea, growling low in the back of his throat as he sought out the heir. He wanted revenge, he wanted _vengeance_. For those that had been lost, for those that had come before. For his father, The Summoner. For their cause, for everything the rebellion stood for. For The Signless. He wanted to right all the wrongs they had suffered. He wanted to rip the Makara heir apart, and after Kurloz was dealt with he wanted to march on High Society. He wanted the Highblood dead. He wanted the Empress' head on a pike.

" _-vros, please._ " Aradia begged, tugging at their mental link, the Alpha's growls deeping as he continued his search, his chest twisting. " _Please, beloved. I cannot lose you. Come back to me, please? I don't-_ "

Tavros pushed her voice down again, not severing the link but dulling her words, tuning out her soft pleas the best he could while continuing north. His body was singing with adrenaline and anger, raw energy that rose to a precipice unlike anything he had felt since losing his sire. He wasn't thinking clearly, and dimly he was aware of this despite his rage. Fighting Kurloz alone would only get him killed. Still, something in him pushed him forward even then, some irrational determination within him made him continue his search.

He could hear the cracks of thunder, he could _feel_ the psionics in the air. The Captors were fighting back. He wanted to fight _with_ them. They could be better together. Their chances of winning the revolution increased exponentially with every new Fein that joined their cause. The Captor broodmates were powerful enough between them to take on every other clade that might oppose them, save for the Highblood and Empress herself. He would forgo his pride if one or both of the Captor heirs would join up with their cause. This was the first time Sollux had agreed to do something other than remain neutral while chaos erupted around him. Tavros had to try to reason with him, he had to try to help them fight. If not for an alliance between them, if not for the rebellion's uprising, then for _her_. He had to protect Aradia. He knew Sollux felt the same.

The bronze Alpha landed heavily, splashing through the shallow waters of the marsh as he ran forward, reaching out with his summoner abilities and sending out a high alert to all arthropods within his influence. The hive instantly began to swarm, dozens of insects in the surrounding area appearing from deep pools and hidden tunnels, storming through the high grasses and screeching continuously, their humming wings crescendoing into a powerful roar. Pincers snapped and jaws clacked together as they darted through the fog, sounding out an alarm when they encountered the being they were searching for. Tavros raced through the reeds after them, hopping between pools and eventually reaching a clearing, the ground upturned from various impact points as he came face to face with Kurloz.

Sollux was standing nearby, panting hard and bleeding from deep slashes across one arm and side, his eyes widening when he realized the other Alpha had arrived. He growled loudly, barking across the clearing as lightning snapped around him, "Don't get close to him! He's using Blood Majyyk!" Kurloz let out a screech and threw his arms forward, sending waves of tar overhead to crash down upon the golden Alpha, Sollux throwing up a shield just in time before he was surrounded in pitch black.

Tavros snapped his fangs and flexed his mind against two of the closest insects, the giant arthropods lurching towards the Makara heir and slicing into him with sharp talons and biting claws, inflicting as much damage as possible before they were blasted aside. He felt their links snap as their lives were snuffed out, Tavros wincing and letting out a sharp cry before launching another set towards the pitch Alpha, hivespawn swarming and surrounding him as he cackled and tore into them one by one. Tavros continued flanking the howling Alpha, his bronze eyes darting to the tar cocoon on the far side of the clearing, watching the cracks of light that appeared as Sollux began breaking free. It took what felt like eternity, but eventually the psion burst from his confines, immediately taking to the air and raining down bright red lightning, blue shields coating the arthropods' shells and keeping them from harm as he lashed out at the bat they'd swarmed upon. He left impact craters across the ground below, scattering debris as he circled higher, meeting eyes with Tavros and shouting to him over the roar of his psionics.

"Pull them back! _Now!_ "

Tavros grit his teeth and tightened his mental reigns, the insects shrieking and spiraling away from the dark Fein with skittering cries, fighting against the link that bound them. "I know! _I know_ you want to fight! _I do too_!" He pulled the struggling hivespawn away to safety as quickly as he could, Sollux firing off a blast of red and blue lightning towards Kurloz before the other Fein took to the air after him. He slammed into the psion with a sound that shattered the air, the shockwave from their impact washing over Tavros and nearly knocking him backwards, sending arthropods tumbling violently backwards across the surrounding marshes. He darted forward, kicking off and soaring towards them both, digging his talons into Kurloz's side and ripping him away from Sollux, the Makara heir turning on him and slashing through one of his wings, tearing along the thick webbing as if it were nothing. Tavros let out a sharp cry, kicking him back towards the ground below and hissing in pain as he bunched his arm against his ribs, wincing at the sensation of warm blood spilling down his side. Sollux growled furiously and darted past Tavros' shoulder to the ground below, claws extended as he slammed into the pitch Fein. He snapped his fangs just above the heir's throat, Kurloz hurling him to the side so he bounced through shallow water, eventually rolling to a complete stop.

" _Damn it!_ " Sollux groaned, pushing himself up and starting after Kurloz again. The pitch Alpha turned his ears to the north, resuming walking through the fog once more. He ignored the two Fein watching him, his true purpose calling to him, pulling him towards the humans he pursued to exact his revenge. Sollux looked to Tavros as the bronze Alpha descended, letting out a sharp bark to get his attention as he headed after Kurloz. "The majyyk coursing through him is _fresh_ , he's strong enough to break through my shields like thin glass. I don't know what we can do to stop him."

"Karkat, the humans, where are they?" Tavros called, his eyes never leaving Kurloz's back, one of his large pinna tilted towards the tawny Alpha at his side, waiting for a reply that never came. When Tavros looked towards Sollux they exchanged a long look, psionics snapping in the air around them, then they both lurched forward to strike at the Highblood's heir, together.

Kurloz grabbed Sollux's wrist and twisted it sharply before throwing him to the side again, the psion catching himself mid-air and darting forward to claw across his face. His claws found purchase, catching Kurloz's cheek and the side of his throat before the Makara unleashed a cluster of voodoo against his chest, sending him flying out across the grasslands, further than he'd bounced before. Sollux landed hard, knocking his skull roughly against the ground and feeling his psionics flare out of control for a moment before he gathered them again, pushing himself up and shaking his head to right his inner balance. He rested for the briefest of moments, blinking over and watching as Tavros and Kurloz went toe-to-toe, trading blows with speed and raw strength so unlike the powers he possessed as a psionic. He was not meant for close combat. Tavros most decidedly was.

The hivespawn were still swarming around them, following them as they crossed the grassland slowly, fighting the entire time, flitting above them through the foggy air and tunneling below, chittering amongst themselves as they tracked the invader terrorizing their lands. Rose was traversing the underground maze with them, weaving through the tunnels and zipping between different parts of the elaborate labyrinth before finding an exit and surfacing once more, optics focusing on the three Fein battling. She was sending a live feed to John and Dave, who were still continuing north as quickly as they could, though Karkat had yet to return to them.

She circled the Alphas for several passes before darting out in the direction the rouge had disappeared, weaving through the fog until she found him struggling with the older psion, Mituna fighting the omega's grasp and trying to go back to the fighting. She flit down to the smaller bat's side, Karkat chirping worriedly as he looked up at her, unable to take flight with the golden beta fighting against his hold.

"Rose! John, Dave, are they safe?"

She flickered with violet light, her voice resonating as she spoke. "They are still progressing north. The others are following close behind, southwest of this location." She circled around Mituna, evaluating the light across his forehead and eyes, beeping faintly as she tried to make sense of the bond Sollux had placed between the two bats before commanding them to flee. "The connection is unstable, it appears the energy fluctuations are hindering the bond." She spiraled around them for a moment before landing beside Karkat and assuming her human shape, reaching out before Mituna's eyes and waving her palms back and forth slowly, catching his eyes, those white irises blinking down at her curiously, the larger bat going still. "There you are, you're alright. We are friends, you see? We do not mean to harm you."

His brow was arched, Karkat feeling their connection tugging at his chest. It wasn't as strong as it had been when Sollux had first placed the binding, and he could feel it slipping more and more each time Mituna's lightning crackled between his eyes and sparked across his fur, Karkat's fingers numb from the staticy feeling. He shivered and watched Rose distract him, narrowing his eyes a bit as he looked between them. "Can you keep him calm enough to help me get him in the air?"

"Doubtful." Rose replied, still examining the taller bat. "His mental capacities are compromised, there is a lot of damage to his internal wiring. He isn't in full control of his emotions or thoughts." She lowered her hands a bit, Mituna blinking slowly and following her movements as she circled around his shoulder, twisting to watch her as she ventured around his back and came to his other side. "I can sense great intelligence there, beneath the damage that has been done. I may be able to stabilize him long enough to return his self-control, but if he unleashes such electricity while I am doing so, he may damage my hologram irreparably."

Karkat frowned, warbling softly, thinking about how Dave had described her to Aradia before. The swarm of micro-machines that made Rose who she was, if they were damaged it was unlikely she would ever be repaired. Even with Dave's ingenuity, they simply didn't have the technology on hand to do so. Was that something they should risk? He tugged Mituna's hands gently, and the psion whined and took only a few steps before fighting to withdraw once more, stepping back towards the direction of the sounds in the distance, the vibrations shaking through the ground and singing through the air, Karkat's fur standing on end as he felt Kurloz gradually creep closer. "I don't know what to do, he's too strong for me. I can't force him to do what I want. It's a wonder I've been able to lead him this far."

Rose was silent for a few moments, then beeped and said, "I will try to assist." She elevated a hand again, her image pixelating as she faded into a shifting cloud of tiny lights, the swarm of pinpricks clustered in the air barely noticeable against the curling fog. The light wrapped around Mituna's forehead and temples, laying across his eyes and curing along his frontal lobe and resting at the base of his skull, effectively creating a helmet of nanotech around his damaged brain. She hovered there for several moments before her image grafted together and sent a pulse of light through the psion's skull, Mituna gasping and jerking his head back, sending the tiny pinpricks of light scattering in disarray. He convulsed in on himself, Karkat losing his grip and starting forward urgently, scrambling to clasp onto his wrist, his forearm, _anything_.

When he found a grip on his tawny fur the beta stilled and blinked up at him, his eyes bright gold and dilating, confusion etched across his face. Karkat breathed sharply, sensing the change in his cognitive functions, asking hesitantly while the other Fein watched him, "Mituna? Can you understand me?"

"Who are you?" He asked, Karkat shifting to take back his hand, but he felt something hold him in place. It prickled up his spine and settled around his nape, and he gasped as he felt it wash over his ears and skull. It was gentle, but powerful. Pure psionics. He's never felt anything like it before.

"I…" He tried to speak, but Mituna was watching him intently, and that strange sensation was pulling at him, a soft breathless twitter escaping him as the beta reached out and touched the scar along his throat. "A friend. I'm a friend." He managed, swallowing against the fingers pressing against his throat, lowering his ears a bit as he realized just how _large_ the beta was. He hadn't felt intimidated until this exact moment. He was frozen under his eyes, those golden irises buzzing with bright white and gold psionics.

Rose materialized a moment later, reaching out and saying in a calm, even voice. "Mituna. This is Karkat. I am Rose." The beta looked over at her, lightning growing in his eyes as he frowned and fixed her in his sights. "Your brother Sollux, he sent you with us to safety." She nodded towards the loud booming echoing across the grasslands out of sight, Mituna pivoting his ears towards the noise and slowly taking his hand from Karkat's throat. "There is much to tell you, and not much time to act. Your brother, he is fighting alongside Tavros against an enemy, Kurloz."

Mituna whipped his head back to look at her, narrowing his eyes. "Kurloz is here?"

"Yes." Karkat said, the omega shivering a bit as the beta looked down at him once more. "He's after us, tracking us to avenge Gamzee."

"Gamzee?" Mituna asked softly, then glanced away, his ears twitching lightly. "Gamzee Makara...is dead." He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to grasp at his memory. "Kurloz is here...seeking out those that took his brother's life. You," he looked at Karkat, "and two others. Humans."

Karkat nodded slowly, wondering how he could know about John and Dave. Mituna had never met them. Was it something he could sense within Karkat, as part of his abilities as a psion? The omega frowned lightly, glancing over at Rose as she stepped closer, the A.I. watching Mituna with a smile. "That's right, that's exactly what's happening right at this very moment." The fighting echoed closer, Rose shifting towards the noise and starting to step away through the tall grasses. "Sollux asked that you follow Karkat, that he be your charge." She glanced away, focusing on the increasing noises approaching them. "Though he does not wish for you to be part of this battle, I am afraid from what I've seen…" She paused for only a moment before adding, "Without you they may not survive."

Mituna frowned, stepping after Rose, but Karkat reached out and grabbed his forearm, stopping him anxiously. "No! No, Sollux told me to guide you from here, you can't go back there, it's not safe! You'll-"

"Someone will die." Mituna looked down at the omega with a little frown. "Either I go and help them, and Kurloz dies, or I stay here with you, and my brother and the Nitram Prima die. Which would you choose?" He searched Karkat's red eyes, then exhaled softly and turned to face him, finding his hand and removing it gently. "I know why he told you to take me away, I understand what I've become, I realize this clarity is only temporary." He looked to Rose, his ears twitching as he added softly, "If something happens to me, tell Sollux I blame him for nothing. He has done everything for me, sacrificed his happiness for me time and time again. After the devastation of losing our Prima to the Empress, he gave up everything, he even lost his palemate because of me. He is the bravest, most selfless Alpha I know." Lightning danced across his fur, traveling up Karkat's arm and tingling through his bones. "Tell him that I am sorry. I have to do this. I can't flee from this place and leave him to die."

"Mituna, please!" Karkat said, taking a few steps after him and growling in frustration. "You don't know what you're doing! Kurloz is unstoppable!"

The golden bat made a soft sound, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh, glancing back to look at Karkat with pity in his eyes. "Kurloz Makara was my moirail once. He made me the way I am now. He destroyed me. Despite that, I am not afraid of what he has become." He turned to the west, saying as he stared into the fog, "If I am to die today, it will free my brother from a lifetime trapped with my broken mind as his only companion. If I can do something, anything to save him from that, I will." He took a step further away from Karkat, the omega watching him go with a twisting chest. "If somehow, between the three of us, we manage to take him down then...well." He let out a soft, airy laugh. "It will finally be an end to all of the pain between us. If anyone is to kill him, it should be me. I have longed to face him in combat one final time." He glanced back at Karkat one last time, his golden eyes sparking brightly before he turned, disappearing into the fog. "Do not follow me, little one."

Karkat chirred softly, shivering and clenching his fists, growling in the back of his throat as he kicked off hard from the ground, ascending through the mists until he reached the cloudbank, Rose trailing after him. The holosprite darted around his shoulder, Karkat scrubbing at his face with the back of his hand for a few moments before glancing at Rose. "Can you find them?" He asked softly, Rose flying ahead across the pale sky, Karkat following after her.

-x-x-x-

John kept Dave airborne easily enough, instructing the blonde on how to feel for the fluctuations in gravity and eventually balance on his own. John stayed close to his side, making sure he could reach out for the other boy should he start to fall, Dave dipping through the clouds now and then in slow languid waves as he familiarized himself with flight. They listened to the sounds of chaos far below, putting distance between themselves and the Fein steadily as they continued on, John listening intently, waiting with an anxious feeling tight in his chest. Karkat would come back to them, they would survive. He had to believe that. He had to. Dave found his hand as he drifted at John's side, squeezing his fingers lightly, the two humans exchanging a glance before darkness washed over them, a giant shadow blocking out the light of the suns.

John jerked his head up, his sensors sounding alarms as the creature swooped down towards them, Dave shoving him away roughly which shattered the bubble shield in two once they were separated, the golden light dissipating into nothing. Without the wind buffer shielding them from the energy fluctuations in the air it knocked the breath from John's lungs, vertigo washing over him as he lost his balance and tumbled backwards through the clouds, losing sight of Dave. He scrambled into an upright position, searching through the cloudbank with his sights, fingertips against his scanner as he called out for him worriedly. "Dave! Are you okay? Where are you?"

The wind bashed him back and forth, tugging him closer to the foggy ground far below, John's heart pounding as he waited for the older boy to answer. It took several long moments but finally he responded, his voice broken with wind and static as he spoke. "John! Hey I'm-"

The shadow passed overhead again, and this time as it broke through the clouds John could tell immediately what it was. A dragon. Giant, bright white and glimmering in the sunlight as it opened its massive jaws and let out a roar, its incredible wingspan casting darkness across him and blocking the sky from his view. He could hear Dave trying to speak over the whirlwind surrounding the giant beast but he couldn't hear anything over the white noise, looking out across the clouds parallel to his current altitude and starting east as fast as he could, ducking to get out of the dragon's line of sight.

He called out to Dave again as soon as he could, trembling and trying not to panic. "Dave, are you there? I can't hear you! Talk to me!"

The blonde responded immediately, relief washing over John as his eyes pinched with worried tears. "Hey, I'm here! Just...lost a bit of altitude when that thing flew overhead. I'm southeast of you, can you find me?" John tapped at his sights, calculating the range of Dave's voice, charting the distance between them. "The wind is too strong, I can't make it back to you from here, I-"

John started towards him as his voice cut out again, fighting against the twisting winds and dipping gravity until he broke through a thick wall of clouds, blinking as he looked out across the wide expanse of grassland stretching far below. The marshes continued stretching towards the east until reaching a massive harbor against the beach, several ships docked in the shallows and sailing from the port out across the ocean beyond, the vast waters dark blue against the pale horizon. He checked his sights again, mapping out the terrain in real time, soaring down in a sloping arch towards the marshes and searching for Dave. His signal was close, but he couldn't quite place it for some reason, it kept darting side to side as if he was being tossed on the wind.

John continued on, searching through the dense fog below and the billowing clouds above until he caught sight of something. He shifted on the next wave of gravity to swoop back into the heights far above the grasslands, his eyes widening as he came face to face not with Dave but with a fierce looking Fein. She was silver, her curly fur tousled on the breeze as they hovered before one another, her ears tilted towards him and her fangs bared as she growled threateningly. Her eyes weren't on him, half-closed and milky-white, and John realized quickly she was _listening_ to him, not watching. She must be blind.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to understand him without wearing a translator, he tried to shift away from her as gingerly as he could without furthering her aggression. The wind at his back kept fighting to push him closer to her, the bat's pinnae following his every movement with eerie precision, her eyes narrowing further as she hissed. He stretched out an arm to try and tilt his body against the gravity just enough to move past her, and she lashed out and whipped her claws through the air towards him, John recoiling defensively away from her. _Shit_. He didn't know what to do to reassure her he wasn't a threat, and he couldn't linger here when they should be heading north and not east towards the ocean. He needed to find Dave.

She hovered across from him, listening to his breathing and his subtle shifting movements against the wind, then she tilted one of her ears to the side and clicked softly, a low chittering sound John had never heard before. It sounded different than when Karkat or their other Fein companions spoke, and the translator didn't respond to the vocalization. She made that same chittering noise again, tilting both of her ears towards the sky above them as the giant white dragon appeared once more, flying directly overhead as if responding to her call. It let out a deafening roar, and John let himself drop on the next wave of fluctuating gravity, descending beneath the silver bat and passing under her as quickly as he could. He glanced back at the dragon and the Fein who had turned to follow his movements, hissing loudly after him as he drifted away from her and continued eastward. He tapped his temple scanner as soon as he was sure she wasn't following, calling out for Dave once more.

"I'm here Dave! Where are you?" His sights were acting strangely again, flicking back and forth to track the other human's movements, and when John looked ahead he could see towering cliffs piercing the sky even at this great height. There was a silvery Fein standing at the edge of the cliffs, looking out across the cloudbank towards another bat, John following her gaze and inhaling sharply. The large silver bat in the air was fighting with Dave, the human keeping away from her the best he could, John tucking his arms against his side and heading straight towards them, the bat on the cliffs jumping into the air to stop him.

She slammed into his side and knocked him through the air, John tumbling through the clouds and jerking to a halt as soon as he could stop his spiral, reaching up to shield his face defensively as she lashed out and slashed at him with glinting claws. He managed to just barely dodge, calling out to Dave as he held out his palms towards her defensively, trying to catch another glimpse of him through the clouds.

"Dave! Dave, don't fight them! They're just-" he gasped and ducked again, staying just out of reach of her claws. "They're just being defensive! We must have intruded into their territory, can you break away? Head out to the sea!"

"I'm trying!" Dave called back, growling and grunting as he fought back against the bat opposing him. "I haven't drawn Cherry Bomb, but these dames are _not_ backing down, and I still can't fly as well as you can!" His voice cut out for a moment, John backing away from the Fein that snapped her jaws at him, extending her claws as she approached. "This is a lot harder with the upwind from the sea, not to mention the galeforce wind that broke us apart. Did you _see_ that dragon?"

"Yeah, yeah I saw it…" John laughed nervously, the bat before him frowning a little at the noise and tilting her ears towards his voice, her teal irises vivid against her silvery fur. He watched her, trying to read her expression, thinking about what he might be able to do to get her to back down. He hesitated only a moment, then he pointedly lowered his hands and tilted his face away from her, offering his neck. Aradia had offered hers when they had first met, as a way of offering an apology. Perhaps he could show this Fein he was apologizing for unknowingly entering her territory. He definitely couldn't outrun her, she was too fast for him to evade, and Dave didn't seem to be having any better luck with the bat he was up against. This was their only option. He swallowed nervously, fighting every instinct he had to stay still as she drifted closer to his shoulder. _Please don't let her rip out my throat…_

The silvery bat flicked her ears irritably, leaning closer while closing her jaws, hiding her fangs but still growling low in the back of her throat. She inspected him, sniffing at him gingerly and quieting her growls before pulling away, blinking a few times and perking her ears towards him. He looked over at her warily, trying to give her a little smile, and she narrowed her eyes a bit before looking to the west, John gasping softly and looking up with wide eyes as the dragon approached. The smaller Fein he had run from before was gliding in the shadows near one of the creature's massive talons, chittering softly to the beast. It left her side to continue flying overhead, circling above the cliffs and casting shadows across the rolling clouds while the smaller Fein approached. The two bats greeted one another with soft chirps, their soft vocalizations still not translating as they spoke back and forth, John watching their exchange warily before the smaller female chirped and turned towards him, reaching out slowly to touch his armoured chest. He held his arms out to the side, giving her room to approach without touching her, allowing her to be the first to act.

She leaned close as the other bat had, sniffing at his shoulder and neck while trilling curiously, John breathing shakily as she reached up and felt across his mask, then goggles, then combed her claws through his dark hair and settled over his ears. She flexed her palms against his skull, then an immense pressure washed over him, John crying out softly and reaching up to tug away her hands, encircling her wrists with his gloved fingers.

_Don't move._

He froze, listening to the voice inside his head, arching his brow and watching the bat's milky, unseeing eyes. He felt that pressure again, tensing and tightening his grip a bit but making no move to pull her away. The blind bat lingered for a moment longer before pulling back her hands, her pinnae tilted towards him as he felt that voice again, the words more sensation than auditory.

_State your nameright._

"Johnathan Egbert." He blinked, frowning a bit. Why would he introduce himself like that? He never used his full name. He looked to the bat before him, watching her warily. That hadn't been a voluntary response, that had been an automatic response to a command, something beyond his control. She had done something strange to him just now, gotten into his head somehow with majyyk. He tried to speak again, but before he could her voice was in his head, giving another command.

_State your purpose._

"We are fleeing north to avoid capture or death. Entering into your territory was not intended." She turned her head slightly, twittering to her companion and speaking back and forth with her for a moment before that voice sounded again.

_Who pursues you?_

"Kurloz Makara."

When the name left his mouth the Fein before him growled softly, and the bat behind her hissed and started speaking rapidly, the two females exchanging words for several long moments before he heard the voice again.

_Why does Kurloz pursue you?_

"To avenge Gamzee Makara's death." John looked between them nervously, the words coming no matter how hard he tried to stop them. "Dave Strider defeated him in combat to protect our Fein companion, Karkat."

The blind bat flicked her ears towards the cliffs nearby, John looking up to see Dave and the largest of the three females still engaged in an aerial dance, the human just barely keeping far enough away from her to duck and weave around her blows.

_You are both human?_

"Yes." John said, looking down at her as she leaned closer and sniffed at his shoulder again. She took his wrist, feeling her way to the seam of his glove and bodysuit, unfastening the buckle with deft claws and pulling the material free slowly. John reached out and took the glove from her, careful not to drop it as he shoved it into his chest compartment, watching her as she traced along his palm and followed the lines across his skin with her fingerpads. She lifted his arm, sniffing at his hand then wrist, then opened her mouth and bit him, sinking her fangs into the veins of his wrist while John cried out in surprise and pain. He reached forward to shove her away but his body froze, the pressure around his mind amplified as she pulled several deep drags from his wrist, the voice in his head becoming clearer as she spoke again.

" _Be still. It will not take much._ "

John groaned softly as she took another deep drag then pried her fangs from his wrist, licking against the mark as blood dripped down his forearm and stained his bodysuit, John flexing his fingers tentatively against the tingly numb feeling creeping up his arm. His sights were flickering noisily at the edges of his vision, examining the small wound and calculating his vitals, John feeling a rush of lightheadedness as he shook his head and blinked to clear away the spots in his vision. He felt weak suddenly, barely able to think straight, looking down at the bat and watching as she looked up and met his eyes, her milky white irises now vivid, crimson red. She licked her lips and leaned closer, inspecting his shaky breathing and hazy blue eyes, tugging at his bleeding wrist gently as she pulled him towards the cliffs. When she spoke to the bat beside her he could understand somehow, blinking towards them both as the smallest bat tugged him along behind them.

"If Gamzee is dead, and Kurloz is on the hunt, that means the rebellion will be moving."

"I agree," the second bat said, her teal eyes flitting back to focus on John for a moment before returning to her companion. "We must tell Redglare, she will likely choose to join them. If they mean to bring the Empress to ruin, this may be our last chance. We cannot fail again."

"Redglare!" The smaller female chirped, the largest of the three halting her movements and looking from Dave towards the approaching bats. John winced at the way the smallest Fein's clawtips bit into the bitemark she had left behind when she pulled him closer and offered him to the other Fein, the largest female flying over to them and inspecting John's wrist, chirping softly.

"They _are_ human?" She asked softly, her teal eyes on John as she took his wrist and lapped against his wound, the human shivering and watching her dizzily as she pressed her lips against the bite and sucked. She didn't bite into him as the first bat had, but she kept sucking at the wound until the bleeding slowed. When she pulled away a few moments later he was no longer dripping blood, tugging his wrist against his chest when she released her hold and looked between the two Fein before her. "Terezi. Latula. Take them inside. I must speak with Pyralspite." She looked to the dragon circling high overhead, flying higher towards the beast without looking back, the other two bats tugging John forward again as they reached the cliffs.

Dave was hovering in the air nearby, calling out to John, but he still couldn't think clearly and his throat felt too dry, blinking slowly as his boots touched the rocky plateau. He wobbled against the surface, falling onto his knees the moment they released him, nausea and unforgiving vertigo washing over him in a wave of heat. Dave was at his side within moments, a hand pressed against his back as he crouched down beside him, taking his arm and inspecting his bloody suit and the oozing wound. He paused, drawing back just long enough to tug the duffel from his back and dig through it for salve, coating the wound thoroughly before starting to wrap it in gauze. He talked quietly to John the whole time, reassuring him with gentle words and light touches. "You're alright, I've got ya. It's gonna be okay, Karkat will find us…"

John nodded and looked up towards the two females watching them, the smallest Fein already starting across the cliffs while the second female watched them, her teal eyes focusing on their movements. Once Dave had secured the gauze he found John's glove and pulled it onto his hand again, fastening the buckle over the gauze gently and helping him to his feet, shrugging the duffel back across his shoulders. John rested against his side as they walked across the cliffs, following a narrow footpath that dipped down along the outer edge and into a fissure, the slit in the rock opening up into a small cave sheltered from the winds swept up from the ocean far below. As soon as they were inside the smaller Fein started speaking again, her companion watching her with her arms crossed over her chest.

"It's been millenia since they last appeared. Why now? What does it mean?" The little bat frowned, her blood-red eyes turning towards John and Dave before focusing on the other bat again. "The Makaras, they will not let the death of an heir go. They will pursue these humans endlessly until the debt has been repaid."

"What does it matter why now? It's happening. Nothing can change that." The Fein sighed softly, shifting her crossed arms tighter across her chest. "Redglare knew they would eventually reappear. It was foretold long before either of us were born, Terezi."

"There has to be a purpose." The smaller Fein frowned, her red eyes narrowing as her lips curled over her fangs. "These eyes can see many things, but _this_ I cannot explain. I must know. I must see for myself." She turned towards the entrance of the cave, looking to the larger Fein as she entered the den. "Redg, are you sending Pyral to the Viridian Sea?"

The silvery bat nodded, casting her eyes towards the humans huddled together nearby. "She will report back to us, there is no need to venture there ourselves. It is too dangerous."

"I want to go with her! I want to _see_!" Terezi started forwards towards the entrance, but Redglare stopped her with an outstretched arm, narrowing her eyes and growling.

"You forget yourself, youngling. Your Blood Majyyk may be powerful, but it is not limitless." The larger Fein crossed her arms over her chest, mirroring the stance of the quiet Fein adjacent to them. "What will you do when you find yourself blinded above the Viridian Sea? The sounds there are muted, washed with fog and endless grasses. The humming from the hives shrouds the sea in endless droning dissonance. You will lose your way." She tilted an ear back, continuing with narrowed eyes. "You gain nothing by entering Nitram territory. Do not cross into the sea."

"I can take care of myself!" Terezi growled, pushing past her and jumping out into the open air, Redglare exhaling irritably and stepping further into the cave, not bothering to look back. She glanced to the other Fein who remained quiet nearby, then turned to fix John and Dave under her heavy gaze, her teal eyes glinting in the darkness.

"What shall we do with them?" Latula asked softly, looking towards Redglare. "We cannot keep them here. They have a Fein companion. Someone is bound to come looking for them."

"We have avoided all other clans for generations. They have no reason to venture here now. We are sheltered here above the ocean, no one dares ascend to these heights. We have nothing to fear, Pyralspite watches over us." Redglare met Latula's even gaze, adding softly, "Their companion, did they mention a name?"

"Karkat." Latula replied evenly, and Redglare's hackles raised as she flicked her ears back and took a step closer to the smaller female.

"Karkat Vantas?" She asked, tilting one of her large pinnae towards the humans. "I know his name. He is The Signless' heir." She snorted, one of her arms dropping to her side as she padded closer to the humans, Dave shifting in front of John defensively, red eyes glaring up into teal. Redglare frowned for a moment, tilting her head a bit as she leaned closer to them, Dave pressing John back a bit against the cave wall while the younger boy watched.

The Fein made no move to speak, just watching Dave with narrowed eyes, until eventually John said softly over his shoulder. "Offer her a translator? Maybe she will take it."

"I don't know...there's something different about these dames. I get this feeling like...we shouldn't trust them." Dave made no move to reach for his chest compartment, and John pressed a hand against his back gently, looking up at him with a small smile.

"Look, I don't know what's going on exactly, but I think they know Karkat. At least this Fein might." He looked to Redglare then back to Dave, adding softly, "The little one that left, her name is Terezi. She did something to me before she took my blood." Dave glanced back at him as he continued. "I can understand them all now, even if the translators don't seem to be working. I can hear them in my head. It's...surreal. It's like I can _feel_ them inside of me." He frowned and arched his brow, trying to make sense of what was happening. "Maybe...if she can hear us, she can figure out the dialect to speak so the translators will work again?"

Dave huffed softly, then nodded and reached for the translators. "Alright, might as well give it a try. Can't hurt, right?"

John watched as he took a disc from the tube, pointed to his ear and offered it to Redglare as he had their other Fein companions many times before. Redglare watched him, taking the disc and fixing it to her aural shell before it beeped and flashed, synchronizing and locking in place. Dave waited a few seconds before he spoke, his voice a little shaky despite his tough-guy tone. "Hey so...sorry about running into you earlier. I'm not the best at flying yet. Can you forgive me this time? We really need to get out of here."

Redglare perked her ears towards his voice, leaned a little closer, then said slowly in a strange accent that the translators could barely comprehend, "You run from Makara. Bring death here. Unforgivable."

Dave frowned, looking back at John, but he had understood her words through the majyyk Terezi had planted within his mind, offering a better translation. "She's saying that because we ran from Kurloz and came to the cliffs, we not only trespassed into their territory, but we potentially brought death to their clutch. Such an act is unforgivable."

The dark-headed boy looked to the Fein watching them, then decided to speak to her directly instead of having Dave attempt communication with such broken translations. He hoped that perhaps, since he could understand her a bit more clearly, he might have a better experience communicating their unintentional trespassing and convince her they weren't a threat. He didn't want their intention to get lost somewhere in translation.

"We are sorry to have trespassed into your territory. Can you please let us leave? We need to head north of the Indigo River, to get as far away from the Viridian Sea as possible." He looked between Redglare and Latula, the smaller bat stepping forward and standing at Redglare's side. "We don't want to cause you any trouble, nor do we wish to bring danger here. Please. We need to go. Karkat told us not to land anywhere. We need to head north."

"Karkat." Redglare said curiously, tilting her head a bit and gesturing with her claws as she spoke. "He is your companion?"

"Yes, he's our friend." John said with a little smile, searching her eyes. "We protect one another. He is fighting against Kurloz for us, with Sollux, Tavros, and Aradia." He wasn't sure if she would know the other names, but he might as well try everyone they knew. If it would help them leave this place, he would say what he needed to. He wanted to reunite with Karkat as quickly as they could.

"Aradia." Latula said quietly, Redglare frowning and flicking an ear irritably. "The youngest Megido heir. She is Damara's broodmate." She looked down at John and Dave, hissing softly. "Would this be a trick? The Handmaid can manipulate almost anything, bend even the mightiest of Alphas to her will…"

"No, he speaks of the youngest heirs of _all_ the surrounding clans. They are not loyal to the Empress." Redglare looked to Latula with a little frown. "Tavros and Aradia are sheltering the Rebellion now that Rufioh is in High Society. If these humans know them, and Sollux is with them now fighting alongside them, that must mean the rebellion is rising."

"You trust their words?" Latula asked cautiously, peering down at the humans with a little frown. "I cannot understand their words, but I trust your judgement as always. What would you have us do?"

"They have no reason to lie." Redglare replied, glancing towards the fissure before looking to Latula once more. "Find Terezi. Tell her I will go with Pyralspite to the sea. Stay here. Watch them." She reached up to her ear, pulling off the translator and giving it back to Dave, before she stepped past the humans and disappeared out into the open sky. Latula frowned at her sudden departure, stepping over to the narrow entrance of the cave and lingered against the smooth inner wall, chirping sharply for several calls out across the cliffs before backing away, Terezi swooping into the cave and landing beside her.

The two bats exchanged words back and forth while Dave turned to John, taking his hands gently. He dipped down a little to meet his eyes through their goggles, giving John a smile and squeezing his fingers gently. "You doing okay? How's your wrist feeling?"

"I'm thirsty." John said softly, Dave nodding and shrugging off the duffel once more then reaching for his satchel, digging through the flaps and finding a water canteen. He offered it to John, the younger boy checking the oxygen levels in the air before tilting up his mask and taking a few sips, panting softly before taking another longer, deeper drink. The air here was thin from such a high altitude, but it was breathable enough not to be dangerous.

Dave watched him with a little smile, relieved to see he was doing okay, tapping at his sights lightly to examine their location on the map. He frowned, rubbing at his temple and trying not to sound too worried as he relayed the information he was reviewing. "Looks like we're way east of where we need to be. The coast is directly below us, which is exactly where Aradia said to avoid." He glanced back at the Fein watching them, then asked softly, "You said you can understand them better than the translators? Can you talk to them for me?"

"I can try." John said, waiting for Dave to continue as he sealed the canteen and offered it back to the blonde, adjusting his mask across his nose and mouth before focusing on the silvery bats nearby.

Dave left John against the wall, the bags resting near his feet, stepping closer to the smaller bat and offering her the translator Redglare had left behind. He walked her through the steps, watching the device light up neon blue before backing away again, returning to John's side. He thought for a moment then started speaking, John translating for him verbatim. "Can you tell us your names? I'm Dave, this is John."

The smallest bat tilted her head towards them curiously, then replied, "I am Terezi of the Pyrope clutch." Her accent wasn't as thick as Redglare's had been, and she stepped closer to breach the distance Dave had placed between them. "You speak an alien dialect, but this device translates your words into the common tongue. We speak Old Song, it has been handed down for generations, unique to the Pyrope clade. It is how we speak with Pyralspite."

"Pyralspite," Dave said, speaking for himself this time, John standing beside him quietly, "That dragon is a friend of yours?"

"She is our mother guardian." Terezi said evenly, perking her ears as she glanced between them. "She gifted our breath, she protects us from the outside. She is the most powerful creature on this planet." She chittered softly, adding on, "In her prime, she was more powerful than the Empress herself. Pyrope was revered as the most powerful clutch before the first uprising."

"Terezi." Latula chided softly. "Tell them not what is not theirs to know." She dipped one of her ears back, saying evenly, "Redglare said to _watch_ them. Not to regale them with our history. You trust too easily."

"Redg said their companion is the Signless' heir, right?" Terezi asked, looking over at the other bat stubbornly. "Why shouldn't they know? What good is ignorance in the middle of a war?"

"Do what you will. I want no part of it." She shook her head, dropping her hands and turning away, retreating further back into the small cave and plopping down atop a pile of furs, everything save her toe-claws shadowed just barely out of sight.

Terezi snorted softly, fixing her red eyes on John and Dave once more. She took a step closer to them, tilting her head a bit. "Your companion...has he told you of the rebellion's cause? Of the rouge bat who led the first uprising?"

"No, we just pick up pieces about what happened here and there." John said softly, looking up at the older boy, Dave meeting his eyes while nodding his agreement.

"Who's The Signless?" The blonde asked, his eyes drifting back to the Fein's, John glancing over to Terezi as well.

The bat visibly sighed, exhaling through her nose before tilting her pinnae towards them. "Sit. This will take time." The two humans found somewhat comfortable spots against the cave wall, John resting against Dave's side as the blonde wrapped his arm around his shoulders, both boys focusing on Terezi again as she started to speak. "First you must understand the Empress herself, and her rise to power." She looked between the two humans, flashing her fangs a bit as she spoke. "All Fein know the story, but few will speak its truth. We were not always this powerful, the technology we received from humans helped build the foundations for our modern society, eventually becoming what we refer to today as High Society." She counted on her claws one finger at a time as she listed off various attributes. "Dome technology, advanced electronics, star mapping systems, data cataloguing; these things were taught to us by the first humans who crash landed upon our planet millenia ago."

Dave and John exchanged a glance, the dark-headed boy asking curiously. "Humans taught Fein technology? We thought they had been shunned by the clutch in the jungle, we never heard that they helped with dome tech, or High Society."

"There are many truths the Empress would kill to keep quiet, but they are nonetheless known." Her eyes flickered with bright red light, irises narrowing to slits as she added, "If it had not been for Roxy Lalonde, the Empress would never have become the ruler of our advanced civilization. She rose in popularity and overwhelmed our society with fake promises and false pretenses. The illusions she crafted were irrefutable at the time. No one had ever seen the types of majyyks humans possess, and they were entranced by it. She took advantage of their naivety and alongside her human companion self-proclaimed herself to be the Empress overseeing all of Fein society. Our benevolent monarch."

She reached up and tapped at the translator disc clinging to her ear.

"Bright lights, pretty words, alien music, promises of a future that would lead our society to greatness. It was all so alluring, inviting us into an unknown world. We accepted every word from her mouth, every lie she told, and before she could be stopped she had risen to become the supreme power in our world. Clades willingly bowed to her reign, following her every action and word, worshiping her and her human companion as divine. Amongst some more traditional clans, this rise to power had been prophesied. It made her powerful beyond belief, and she began to abuse that power. She divided alliances, turning all eyes to her and demanding their unwavering loyalty, forcing all to acknowledge that she was the one true ruler. She was of course opposed for overstepping into other clans' territories and beliefs, the Signless was one of the first to call for her to end her reign and quell the chaos consuming the lands. He never stood a chance against the Empress, or The Highblood who adores her. The First Rebellion was little more than a slaughter."

She frowned, her ears twitching to and fro as she continued.

"Even now, with The Highblood and his cultists at her side, no one can touch her." She looked to Dave, watching him closely. "Yet somehow you managed to kill the youngest Makara heir, the one set to inherit High Society's extensive underground occult society, effectively destroying succession for the next right hand to the Empress. You have dealt more damage in one blow that the rebellion has managed in two uprisings."

Dave tensed a bit, John looking up at him for a moment, rubbing his side gently. The blonde swallowed thickly, then asked shakily, "Roxy Lalonde...you said she was responsible for introducing human tech to the Fein who's now the evil overseer of the entire planet?"

"Yes." Terezi said, narrowing her eyes a bit at his tone. "Why do you sound distressed? This happened millenia ago."

"Lalonde." He looked to John, holding his gaze as he whispered softly. "Roxy and Dirk were best friends. Rose is modeled after Roxy's little sister, she died of cancer before she was able to make it up to the colonies for treatment. I...I _knew_ her. Roxy and Rose were our friends on Earth."

John thought for a moment, recalling the first video clip in the archives he had watched on the bridge, how Dirk and his companions had been talking about Roxy, about how she had done something without them. "Holy shit…" He shook his head, watching Dave with concern. "You mean humans are responsible for their entire world order as it currently exists? The crash landing led up to all of this?"

"Your technology gave us great advantages." Terezi said, the humans looking to her as she explained. "Advances in medicine, engineering, architecture, granting exposure to things we wouldn't have been able to replicate for generations without someone showing us the right paths to take." She reached down and grasped her dewclaws, rubbing at one of her large talons absently as she spoke in greater detail about the events that had transpired. "Roxy and the Empress were close for quite some time, until eventually all of the advances began to create a rift between those closest to the Empress and general society. Clades chose sides, began to house conflict between one another, and when the Empress' powers grew beyond anything comparable to the rest of our world the first uprising united the people against her. It was led by a rouge bat known now only as The Signless. His nameright was erased from history, but he is an ancestor to the Vantas clade. All rouges are his descendants, and they are increasingly rare." She thought for a moment, then asked, "You killed Gamzee to protect him? To protect Karkat?"

"Yeah I mean…" Dave's voice was soft, John looking up at him and petting his side slowly. "He did something to Karkat. He bit his neck, Karkat went limp, he was talking about forcing himself on him. I wasn't about to let that happen."

"I see now." Terezi said, chirruping softly. "He marked your companion, but the bond was forced. Unrequited. It is noble that you would seek to protect him from an unwanted bond."

Dave nodded slowly, John giving him a little smile and looking towards Terezi. "So what happened with The Signless and the first uprising? You said it was a slaughter...so I take it the Empress was too powerful to be overthrown?"

"Yes. Much too powerful." Terezi sighed, creasing her brow as she spoke. "She captured the Signless and held a public execution. She forced his closest companions to watch. His matesprit, The Disciple. His moirail, The Psiioniic. His guardian, The Dolorosa. They were great leaders in their time, a united force opposing the Empress and her followers. Despite the power they held between them, the Empress' majyyk combined with the human majyyk she was gifted proved to be too much, even for the Psiioniic."

She closed her eyes for a moment, one of her ears twitching as she spoke.

"Once the Signless was executed, she condemned his mate to die as well. Darkleer, the Executioner, struck a deadly blow, but she somehow miraculously survived. She was allowed to flee back to her territory, and has lived in silence within the western woods since losing her beloved. The Psiioniic vowed to avenge his moirail, and kill the Empress. She keeps him imprisoned in High Society, confined where she can see him always and knows she is safe from his wrath. The Dolorosa was sentenced to servitude, the Highblood banished her to the eastern seas. She was under Mindfang's fleet for centuries before she took her own life. There are rumours as to exactly what happened to cause her to finally do so, but the Marquise was directly responsible for her death."

She sighed heavily, glancing between the two watching her.

"If you remember nothing else from what I tell you now, remember this. The clades loyal to the Empress are her own, Peixes, the Highblood's, Makara, the Executioner's, Zahhak, the Marquise's, Serket, the Orphaner's, Ampora, and The Handmaid's, Megido. If you encounter any of these clades, flee for your lives. They will not hesitate to take you to the Empress, and once you are within her grasp your lives are forfeit." She tilted her head slightly, adding, "On the other side, you should know those who ally with the rebellion and can be trusted. Those loyal to the Rebellion are our clan, Pyrope, the Summoner's, Nitram, the Psiioniic's, Captor, and the Disciple's, Leijon. The last remaining heirs of the Signless' clade, Vantas, should also be loyal to the rebellion, though other than Karkat I cannot say how many still remain. Only a handful at most."

She lifted a claw to her face, tapping against her cheek lightly as she thought aloud.

"The only clade I am uncertain of is the Dolorosa's, Maryam. They have been trapped within High Society, much like The Psiioniic, since the Signless was executed. It is hard to determine where their loyalties lie. They are cut off from the rest of society. They were once our sister clade. Redglare has theorized in regards to their clan it is possible that, in the time that has passed, the Highblood has converted them to occultists."

The humans were quiet for a brief moment, exchanging a confused glance. "You said before that Megido can't be trusted, but Aradia is our friend." Dave said with a little frown, looking to John.

"Zahhak too, that's Equius' clade." John looked to Terezi, explaining, "He helped us escape the jungle and reach the Viridian Sea." John arched his brow a bit, continuing hesitantly by asking, "His brother Horuss and Rufioh are friends, aren't they? Equius and Horuss are not loyal to the Empress. If it weren't for them we might not have reached the Viridian Sea before the Makara clan found us."

"No, perhaps not." Terezi mused, her pinnae pivoting to and fro before focusing on the humans. "Aradia and the Zahhak broodmates may not be loyal to the Empress, but their Primas are. The clan's loyalties lie with whomever their Prima deems to follow." She flicked one of her ears to the side. "The Executioner and The Handmaid are both loyal to the Empress. Should you meet any other Fein from their clans, they should not be trusted."

John nodded a little, Dave exhaling shakily beside him. "Before we left them, Aradia mentioned we should avoid the eastern coastal regions because it would be too dangerous." The older boy frowned, asking hesitantly, "Was her warning in regards to you and your clutch?"

Looking between him and Terezi, John added quickly, "Are there other clades nearby we should be worried about?" He frowned a little, watching the small silver bat, hoping they hadn't offended her by implying she and her broodmates might be dangerous. The Pyrope clan had been confrontational at first, true enough, but now that they understood the circumstances surrounding the human's sudden appearance within their territory they seemed tolerant enough.

"Pyrope do not associate with the surrounding clans." Terezi said simply. "The Megido heir's warning likely directed you to avoid her own clan, as well as Ampora and Serket. They rule the coastline stretching along the eastern border from the Megido harbor to the mountains. They control trade routes and tactical advantages across the open sea."

John nodded, his eyes wide as he recalled the large harbor he had seen before near the base of the cliffs, the massive ships that had been sailing to and fro. They must have been carrying trade goods and other various cargo along the coast between the clans loyal to the Empress. They were so close to danger, but somehow he felt safe knowing Terezi and Latula were here with them. Dave might not feel as if they could be trusted yet, but John was beginning to warm up to the petite Fein who was so willing to share the history of her world with them without asking for anything in exchange. Here, knowledge was power, and she was gifting them with understanding they had not yet been granted by any of the other Fein they had encountered since their awakening. John felt that now he understood the dynamics a bit better, at least enough to know who was on their side and who should be avoided at all costs.

The Fein in the back of the cave shifted as Terezi started to speak again, sitting up a bit and peeking out of the shadows to growl at her broodmate irritably. "You would be wise to hold your tongue, Terezi. You've said enough. Redglare did not give you permission to speak of such things, and while she is gone you know not what tactical disadvantages you place giving such information freely to an alien species." John glanced over at her, surprised at her blatant disapproval, Dave tightening his grip around his shoulders slightly while watching the glowering Fein with a frown. "Think of all the damage the first wave brought to our planet. It would be wise to let the one that pursues them have them and be done with it. No one can overthrow the Empress at her current state of power, even Redglare knows that."

Terezi turned to fix the other bat in her sights, growling irritably at her words. "Just moments ago you were speaking of joining the rebellion, and now you say it is foolish to even consider doing so? What happened to _this is our last chance_? Do you deem it now not even worth _trying_?"

"Redglare left to stop the fighting. That is why she did not want you to go." Latula's teal eyes gleamed in the darkness, Terezi getting to her feet and stomping over to her while flashing her fangs and hissing.

"Redg did not want me to go because my Blood Majyyk is limited! You heard her say so herself!"

"Do you honestly believe that?" The older Fein sighed, turning away to lay down once more. "I had hope upon first seeing them, but they are weak. What could they possibly do against the Empress herself? Nothing. They are powerless, just as we are." Terezi paced as her sister spoke, growling in the back of her throat. "That is why we hide amongst the highest cliffs under Pyralspite's protection, and have done so for centuries. You've never seen anything beyond the sea, yet you speak of our history to outsiders who may do more harm than good." She rolled over, curling her talons in as she tucked her legs to her chest, her voice muffled as she spoke. "I am tired of all of this. Tired of false hope. Tired of waiting. How many more times will the rebellion rise up before we are all hunted down and killed off? It is futile."

"You're so dull sometimes, Latula. If you didn't want to listen, you should have said so sooner." Terezi snorted, turning her back to her sister and leaving her to brood alone in the dark. She returned to John and Dave, gesturing for the humans to follow her as she made her way through the fissure and leapt into the air, ascending to the clifftop plateau once more.

Dave looked to John, then shifted to his feet, taking the other boy's arm and helping him up gently, following after Terezi by walking up the narrow path to the plateau. John reached up to shield his eyes from the sun as Dave tugged him along behind him gently, blinking to clear his sight before focusing on Terezi once more. She was standing in the center of the rocky clearing, holding her arms out and spreading her claws wide, manifesting globes of crimson blood before her and spreading the orbs out methodically until they mirrored the maps of the holodeck on the starship bridge. Her majyyk showed with perfect accuracy the three planets orbiting one another around the dual suns, Dave and John stepping over to her side as she pointed to each one in turn.

"We are here. This is-" the name she spoke for the planet didn't translate, the Fein looking to the two humans who exchanged a glance, then Dave spoke up before she could continue.

"Uh, sorry we didn't really catch that. There are parts of the local dialect that our translators don't pick up." He tapped at the disc resting against his ear, then flicked his fingertips against the air. His sights brought up a display hologram, laying it over the blood map she had manifested, Terezi watching with interest as it mirrored her majyyk. "Okay. This is the planet we are currently standing on." He gestured to the orb she had indicated again. "Two moons, auroras at night. Similar traits to our planet, Earth. Sunlight, oxygen, water…" He looked at the bat who was watching him, then he hesitantly asked, "Why don't we call this planet Aurora? Easy to remember, right?" He added the data into the translator, replacing the unknown word she had spoken before with something recognizable. The next time the word was spoken in Fein it would translate accordingly, the database updating with a flicker and soft chime, repeating the word back to the humans and the bat watching them.

"Aurora." Terezi repeated, getting a feel for the name in her native tongue as it echoed back to her through her translator. "Very well." She looked at the map again, her claws tracing the edges of the levitating crimson orb. "This planet has two moons that bring equilibrium to the waves of gravity, and of the three planets in the gravitational cluster surrounding the suns it is the most apt at sustaining life." She spun the orb lightly, her eyes watching the shifting display before her with mild interest. "Fein have migrated here for generations, but our clade is not originally from this place. We are from-" She said another name, pointing to the planet without any moons, glancing towards Dave again. "This planet is shrouded in darkness, despite the light of the suns. A thick veil lingers in the atmosphere, nearly impenetrable to all external sources. The creatures that live in the wilderness are akin to Pyralspite, though she is now the last of her kind both on this planet and our original." She spoke the word again, creating a gap in the translation before her words resumed. "-became too dangerous for Fein to inhabit, and so our clutch migrated here to Aurora during a gravitational anomaly millenia ago, many generations before Latula and I were born. Redglare grew up on-" Terezi looked to John and Dave, one of her large silvery pinna tilting towards them slightly. "She is the last of our clan who knows all variations of Old Song."

"Wait, you're saying the Fein we met before," John gestured lightly as he spoke, glancing out towards the west where thunder was still rolling across the Viridian Sea, "Redglare...she's lived for _millenia_?"

Dave was in disbelief as well, asking cautiously, "How long do Fein typically live? Do you not die from old age?"

"Fein lifespans vary depending on our majyyks and bloodlines." Terezi explained, holding one of her arms at the elbow while tapping her claws against her waist lightly. "Pyrope are middle-caste, so we have moderately lengthy lifespans. The high-caste Fein such as Peixes and Ampora are older than any of us know. Old enough to remember the first time humans walked amongst us, because they were alive when the ship crashed upon the surface."

"Alright so this moonless planet, all darkness, big bad scary monsters...we'll call it Nocturne." Dave tapped at his personal sights and typed as he spoke, making notes across the display and updating the translation. "So, as of right now, no Fein live on Nocturne, but your clan was from there originally?"

"Yes. Pyrope, and Maryam are both originally from Nocturne. We have adapted to life on Aurora, but certain traits remain that are unique to our original planet." She flicked her claws against her fur, white light highlighting her features as she turned to face them. "Both of our clans are bioluminescent, have echolocation and night-sights, and are versed naturally in Blood Majyyk." She nodded towards John lightly, her eyes on his wrist. "What I drew from you, that was enough to grant me access to see with my own eyes and summon basic majyyks, but it will not last for long. My eyes will return to blindness before nightfall. I can already feel my majyyk fading, along with my sight."

John looked over at Dave, the blonde frowning and making more notes as the bat spoke. "Alright then...what about this guy?" He motioned to the third planet with three moons, the triplet satellites orbiting around the planet lazily. "Anything we should know?"

"-is covered in endless water. The icy landmasses that once dotted the surface have long been destroyed by erosion and tsunamis. The surface is wracked with endless storms." She tilted her ears towards the display, focusing on the third orb. "Serket and Ampora are from this planet. They came to Aurora once their clans began to suffer losses too extensive to justify living on the freezing seas, and vowed to serve the Highblood and Empress for allowing them to occupy the coastal regions bordering High Society."

"Endless sea. Hurricanes. Okay, we'll name this guy...Aquaria." Dave looked up at Terezi, nodding and waiting for her to continue. "So we have Aurora, Nocturne, and Aquaria. Orbiting around two nearly identical white dwarfs." He looked to John, grinning a little. "It almost looks like a tiny atom once you look at all of them moving together as a unit. It's kind of beautiful from a scientific perspective, right?"

John nodded, looking between the planets then glancing up at Terezi. He thought about Latula, about the irritation she had shown and the words she had spoken before. "Why are you showing us all of this? Explaining in such great detail?"

"So you can understand what the Rebellion is up against." She looked between the two humans with a frown. "Latula's pessimism isn't completely unjustified. As loyalists to the rebellion we go up against not only clades from this planet, but those from the two surrounding planets as well. Aurora is truly the only inhabitable planet of the three, and the rebellion seeks to uproot and turn on end our entire society as we know it. Even if we do somehow manage to overthrow the Highblood and Empress, societal collapse could bring disaster to all Fein. It may be something we never recover from. Despite that, if it means ending the Empress' tyranny then..." She glanced to the display, poking at the orb representing Aurora, turning it slowly as she continued. "...it is worth the risk. If we fall to ruin, at least we will have our freedom when our species meets its end." She exhaled softly through her nose. "As a beta, I have felt the oppression of the high-castes my entire existence, but the suffering I have endured is nothing in comparison to others with less fortunate fates. I could not imagine being an omega in our society today. Being hunted down and put on display like trophies, forced to bond with strangers of the Empress' choosing. Turned into breeders to prolong our species. It's disgusting. It cannot be allowed to continue." Her eyes were burning as she turned back to the humans, her fangs flashing as she growled. "It is worth fighting to destroy the collars that bind us to her absolute will. We may fail again this time, but still. We must try."

"Do you really believe we can make a difference?" Dave asked softly, John looking up and watching him with a soft expression, pressing closer to his side.

Terezi was quiet for a long moment before answering. "You two, alongside your rouge Fein companion, do create a powerful symbol that may effectively unite all clans to rise up against the Empress. Only together do we have any hope of succeeding." She shifted her weight, cocking her hip slightly as she crossed her arms over her chest, watching them. "It has taken generations to rebuild the rebellion after the second attempt to overthrow the Empress ended in failure, which resulted in the death of the Nitram clan's Prima, the Summoner. Redglare was gravely injured as well, our clade almost wiped out and sent fleeing to the far south. Many leaders have risen against the Empress, and just as many have fallen. We ourselves have been in hiding for generations, waiting, watching the world below. Observing how her reign slowly chokes the life out of the planet, and out of all Fein within her reach. If the two of you hold some hope of the rebellion succeeding this time then…" She met John's eyes first, then Dave's. "I will fight with you, regardless of what Redg or Latula decide. I'm tired of running, tired of hiding in the dark waiting for her minions to seek us out and kill us, or run us south into the uninhabitable Tainted Sea. Nothing but death awaits us here, and I'm not ready to give up yet. I want to _live_."

Dave nodded, taking in her words, John feeling a strange twisting sensation twisting in his chest. She sounded so determined, so desperate, yet she was blind and nearly helpless without her majyyk. He glanced down at his wrist, exhaling softly, then met eyes once more with Terezi. "Can you take us to Karkat?"

Terezi let her majyyks fall, the hologram flickering as the blood dissipated, glowing neon blue and green where it hovered above the windswept plateau. She stepped closer to the humans, her crimson eyes meeting Dave's first, then turning to lock eyes with John. "If you will agree to grant me access to your blood when it is needed to renew my majyyk, then yes. I will take you where you wish to go."

-x-x-x-

Karkat followed Rose to the east, flying against the viscous gale sweeping up from the ocean far below, shielding his face with his arms and peeking out through the small opening between his forearms to search the churning cloudbank. They were close, he could _feel_ them, but for some reason he couldn't quite pinpoint their exact location. There was something in the air, something haunting and beautiful, a song he felt as if he'd heard before in a distant memory, caught somewhere between dreamless sleep and consciousness. He shivered, ducking his ears a bit and trying to block out as much of that ethereal sound as he could, losing his focus momentarily before powering through the dense clouds.

Rose was with him, flitting nearby his shoulder and circling around him as he was battered back and forth, the rouge bat chirping in distress as he was buffeted backwards again. He had never experienced such difficulty flying before, but he had also never been this close to the eastern sea. The gravity here was light and easy to manipulate, and it meant the wind had little to no resistance when tossing him effortlessly. He was getting dizzy from it, his stomach twisting anxiously. He could feel them, and Rose could tell from their vitals they were alright, but still. He wanted to be with them. He needed to be by their sides.

He felt something shiver up his spine and looked overhead just before a shadow passed across the suns, a massive winged reptile soaring overhead with a silvery Fein following close behind, Karkat ducking into the clouds for cover and watching them pass overhead. He perked his ears towards them as they faded into the cloudbank stretching out westward, the strange singing in the air quieting as the distance increased between them. Karkat let out a shuddering sigh of relief, turning to the east and dipping through the next wave of gravity to continue towards the ocean once more. He had heard tales of flying beasts close to the sea, but he had thought they had all died centuries ago. Apparently he had been wrong.

A harbor eventually came into view before the vast eastern waters stretching on towards the horizon, Karkat sniffing the air and glancing around. There was something here. Something tangible in the air, the omega opening his mouth and breathing in against so his palate could taste the air. Blood. _Human blood_. His hackles raised and he felt a growl begin to grow in his chest, and he tilted his ears to the south, noticing the edges of cliffs in the distance. He narrowed his eyes against the sweeping seabreeze, starting towards the jutting cliffs with Rose close behind him. As they drew closer, the A.I. darted ahead, flitting across the surface of the rocks and circling several times before dipping down and entering a small hidden cave tucked into the side of the cliffs, Karkat perking his ears towards the fissure and waiting expectantly. He could smell them, they were here recently, but no longer. He must have just missed them.

When Rose returned to his side a Fein appeared in the entryway, her teal eyes sharp as she watched him, shoulders tense and defensive. He flicked an ear to the side, keeping his eyes on her before dipping both of his ears back, calling out to her hesitantly, "They were here, weren't they? Can you tell me where they've gone?"

The female snorted, claws and talons clicking lightly against the weathered rock as she pushed herself into the air and ascended to hover before him, sniffing at the air curiously before turning her eyes to the north. She didn't speak for a long while, her eyes turning once more to him and roaming across his rouge fur, then she said with a strange accent Karkat had never heard before, "They are looking for you. They headed to the river." She gestured north, towards the harbor Karkat had spotted before.

Karkat watched her uneasily, taking in her silver fur and her teal eyes, trying to place her accent. He didn't know much about the other clades in the area, but Tavros and Aradia had not mentioned any other clades besides Megido and Captor when they had mapped out those bordering the Viridian Sea. He had to be cautious. He lifted his ears slightly, then asked, "You're outcast?"

She tilted her head slightly, then nodded. "Since the last rebellion. We are Pyrope." She pointed towards him, asking with a soft chirp, "You are Vantas?"

"Yes." Karkat said softly, searching her eyes with wonder. He had thought the Pyrope clan wiped out long ago, trying to wrap his mind around how they could have survived after the second uprising had failed so brilliantly. Not many had escaped the Empress' wrath. "The creature…" He gestured with his hands, making wings with his fingers and flexing them against the air. "That giant creature protects those of you who survived?"

"Pyralspite. Yes." She chittered softly, drifting a little closer, her nose wrinkling slightly as she searched his eyes. "My broodmate, Terezi. She is with them. Go north. You will find them at the river. She will not leave their side."

Karkat nodded, giving her a little grateful smile and dipping his ears before turning to go, pausing to glance over his shoulder and calling down to her, "My nameright is Karkat. Thank you for sheltering them."

"Latula Pyrope." she replied, giving a little nod and dipping back towards the hidden fissure, hovering in the entryway and watching him go, her teal eyes gleaming in the sunlight.

-x-x-x-

Kurloz hurled Tavros backwards across the muddy clearing, the bronze Alpha growling as he hastily scrambled to his feet, meeting the Makara heir's next attack and shoving him back with a loud snarl. Sollux was nearby, panting harshly and gripping his side, wincing as he tried to get to his feet but stumbled. The last wave of voodoo Kurloz had tossed at him had managed to sink into his open wounds, and now every time he tried to breathe he could feel the Dark Majyyk constricting his lungs, his heart, his psionics fizzling as he fought to remain conscious. Aradia was whispering against the back of his mind, as he was certain she must be trying to contact Tavros too, but he couldn't focus on her, couldn't ease her worries.

He had been confident at first, had entered into this battle with victory at his fingertips, but the fresh Blood Majyyk singing through Kurloz's veins was more powerful than any force he had ever gone up against. It rivaled the abilities of Mituna, and of his sire. Even with Tavros' help he was quickly becoming aware of just how dangerous a situation they found themselves in. Kurloz didn't even seem winded despite the blows he'd sustained from both of the opposing Alphas. Sollux wasn't sure how much longer they had until he overpowered one of them, and quickly took down the sole remaining opponent. It couldn't end like this, not like this. Aradia would never forgive him for dying at the hands of Kurloz, let alone forgive him for not saving Tavros. He couldn't let her down. He wouldn't accept this fate.

He tensed as he felt an unfamiliar presence quickly growing closer before descending upon them, Sollux lifting a shield around himself with one hand while tossing a second bubble around Tavros, glanced up into the sky while narrowing his eyes. What now? The thick fog rolled backwards in a blinding flash of light, and Sollux gasped and stared in confusion at the psion that approached them. Golden lightning streamed in continuous waves from his open palms, pushing Kurloz away from Tavros and Sollux, the heir turning to face Mituna and letting out a cheery cackle as if delighted to see the tawny beta.

" _I was wondering where you'd gone!_ " Kurloz hunched and the flames licking at his shoulders grew and began burning down his spine, igniting the air and sending a wave of heat over the surrounding marshes, the mud at his feet beginning to bubble and swirl with the black tar pouring from his mouth. He snapped his jaws, taking a step closer, but Mituna was instantly before him in a supersonic flash that sent a shockwave through the air, throwing Kurloz back as hard as he could and sending bolts of lightning raining down upon him, jumping through the fog and following after him with a precision unlike anything Sollux had seen since his injury. This was the Mituna that Sollux had grown up with. The Mituna that had been cultivated to be the next heir to the Captor clade. He was fully aware of his surroundings, and fully capable of handing Kurloz even with his Blood Majyyk. It was a sight to behold.

Sollux couldn't spend much time being amazed at the unexplained change in his broodmate, wheezing softly as he hunched over and gripped at his ribs. He wrapped both arms tightly around his body, sending a wave of psionics throughout his injury, the vivid light clustering within his chest and driving out the invasive darkness choking him. He practically screamed as he rid himself of the lingering voodoo, panting hard and shifting to recline in the muddy water surrounding him, his eyes sparking with red and blue light as he looked to Tavros. The bronze Alpha looked to be in rough shape as well, clinging to his injured wing and covering the gaping hole with his palm the best he could. It had widened since the initial rip, exacerbated by the intensity of his fighting with Kurloz. Sollux wasn't sure if he would be able to fly like that. Then again, the psionic wasn't sure he would be able to fly either without some help getting airborne. Finally he allowed Aradia's voice to rise against his mind, reaching out and wrapping himself around their link, pulling her closer so she could enter his mind fully.

" _Sollux! Please tell me you're alright? Is Tavros there, is he with you?_ "

"We're alright, Aradia." Tavros turned and met Sollux's eyes briefly, exhaling shakily and tilting his ears towards the west, listening to the sounds of Kurloz and Mituna fighting. "Mituna's here, he saved us. He's...acting like he used to, before the incident. I don't know how it's possible, or how long he'll be in control, but it couldn't have happened at a better time. We needed him." He shivered a little, trying to shift and push himself up out of the mud, struggling to find his balance with the help of his psionics. "How are you? Is the dome safe?"

" _I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Sollux._ " He could feel her sadness, hear her distress as she tried to muffle her sobs. " _I never meant to endanger you both, but we need them to survive…_ "

"Aradia." Sollux chided gently, "I knowingly put myself in danger. Nitram did as well." He looked to the other Alpha, frowning lightly before glancing away and adding, "The humans aren't with me, but Karkat should be with them now. They're going to make it beyond the river, they'll make it to High Society and reach Rufioh. Don't lose faith. You shine the brightest among all of us."

Aradia laughed brokenly, sniffing and trying to control her shaky breathing as she spoke up again. " _I cherish you beyond words. I miss you. Please come back to me. Both of you. I need you with me._ "

Sollux felt his chest twist, his heart fluttering lightly at her words. He missed her too, more than words could express. He had promised her he would bring the humans and their omega companion to the river safely, and that's exactly what he would do. If Mituna was sane for now, and could handle Kurloz without them, then with their injuries it was only reasonable that Tavros and Sollux go their separate ways. Aradia needed her moirail with her. Sollux wouldn't deny her what she needed now more than ever. He fixed Tavros in his sights, stepping over to the other Alpha and asking gingerly, "Can you make it back to your clade?"

Tavros frowned a little, flicking one of his large pinna to the side before nodding. "I can. You?"

"I'll be alright. I've handled worse." Sollux gave him a hint of a smirk, Tavros exhaling softly and glancing away, a small smile playing across his lips. The bronze Alpha listened to the fighting to the west for a moment longer before turning away, stepping across the muddy ground and kicking into the air, his movements slow and heavy. Sollux watched him for a moment, then with the help of his psionics started to ascend as well, not looking back as he left the marshes behind. He and Tavros may never truly be companions, but in that moment they had been allies, united against a common threat. They had done well fighting together, as well as they could have, given such an overpowered opponent. If any other Fein had encountered Kurloz in his heightened state it was likely they would have been cut down without mercy. Luckily enough they had managed to escape with their lives, and though Sollux worried for Mituna at this point he couldn't deny his brother was the only one who might be able to stop Kurloz. He had to let him try.

He ascended through the billowing clouds, eyes widening as he quickly ducked around a Fein and turned back to fix her in his sights, lifting his hands defensively. She returned his gaze evenly, lifting a palm towards him and sharing a moment of silence before a roar pierced the skies, Sollux recoiling and looking above them to see a beast circling high overhead. An ancient guardian, a hybrid species not of this planet. The psion watched the creature as it flew across the sky, its massive wingspan blotting out the suns. A female silver bat, accompanied by a flying creature Sollux had never witnessed before...that could mean only one thing. She was a Pyrope. He had heard stories of the Pyrope clan from his sire.

He looked to the Fein again, but she had already turned her back, drifting in a gradual descent in the direction Sollux had ascended from, the cloud cover quickly concealing her as she faded out of sight. From what Sollux knew of her clan, she was an ally to the rebellion and would not hesitate to fight against the Makara heir invading the Viridian Sea. It gave him hope that Mituna would be successful, especially with a Pyrope watching his back. He would monitor his link with his broodmate carefully, and once able to, he would return to Mituna's side. They would return to their clutch once Kurloz was dealt with, and continue to watch over their clan, together.

A chill shuddered up his spine at the energy surging in the air and he took a few moments to listen and wait. Those massive wingbeats resonated almost in harmony with the booming thunder far below, Sollux turning away from the noise towards the dual suns high overhead. He turned into the wind, riding the next fluctuation of gravity high above the clouds, arching into the sunlight. He focused his psionics, finding the thread he had linked between Mituna and Karkat and following the sensation of lingering Light Majyyk to the northeast, red and blue psionics dancing across his tawny fur and cauterizing his more extensive injuries so they could begin to heal. As an Alpha, his natural recovery rate was far greater than that of a beta or omega. He was sure Tavros would heal as well, especially with Aradia at his side to help things along. He reached for the connection he shared with her, but the further he traveled away from the hidden dome the fainter she felt, until eventually he couldn't sense her at all. He worried for her, but she would be alright. Tavros was there to protect her.

He could see the dark waters of the large river to the north, the Indigo River effectively cutting the mainland in half as it flowed from just south of the Leijon clade's forest towards the open sea far to the east. The grasslands ended south of the river where his clutch nestled against the shallow banks, the opposite bank of the river melding into lush meadowlands stretching far to the north. He could feel Karkat was close, perking his ears to the east and flicking his fingertips lightly against the air, sending a beacon of light out through the cloudbank and sensing where it pulsated against the rouge omega. He perked his ears, honing in on the sound of voices nearby, quickly travelling the distance separating them and ducking through a cloud to reach the smaller bat's side. He was surprised to see another Fein there as well, a small silver female resembling the bat he had witnessed before, tilting one of his ears to the side as she looked up at him, her eyes a startling vermilion against her luminescent fur.

Karkat noticed her gaze had wandered past his shoulder, turning and chirping in surprise as he looked up at Sollux. "You're here! Did Mituna…?"

"He's fighting Kurloz." Sollux summarized, Karkat's eyes wandering down his frame and taking in the sight of his injuries, the Alpha watching him for a moment before turning to focus on the small Pyrope. "I assume you are here for the same reasons we are?"

"The humans." The small beta replied, flicking her eyes towards Karkat again. "She couldn't have taken them far. If we are to intercept them we must do so before she reaches the Handmaid, or one of the ocean clade Primas."

"Alright. I believe you. Just…" He exhaled shakily, looking up at Sollux, explaining as quickly as he could. "They were taken." He dipped his ears back, continuing softly, "It was Aradia's broodmate, Damara. Terezi was guiding them to the river to meet me, but before they could cross they were spotted from the harbor. The fighting is drawing attention, and the Empress' loyalists are on high alert." He searched Sollux's eyes, asking softly, "I know you were only meant to guide us to the river, but please? I cannot lose them. They're…" He arched his brow, chirping softly in distress, Sollux's chest growing tight as he watched the small omega. "They're precious to me. I have to do _something_ , I can't abandon them…"

"If you will allow me to drink from you I can save them." The silver bat said softly, a little frown across her face. "I did not draw enough earlier to manifest enough majyyk to fight back against Damara. I understand you do not know me, we are strangers and you are right to mistrust me, but I assure you I can and will bring them back to you."

"You're versed in Blood Majyyk?" Sollux asked, Terezi looking up at him and nodding.

"All Pyrope wield such majyyks. It is our bloodline's heritage."

Sollux hummed softly, looking down at Karkat. "I would offer my own, but I've lost quite a bit from fighting with Kurloz. It would be best I reserve my strength should we need it, at least until I've had a bit more time to heal." He flicked one ear backwards, then tilted his pinnae towards Terezi. "How much would you need to take?"

"I haven't fed properly in quite some time so...a substantial amount." She frowned and looked east towards the harbor, to the place where the Indigo River merged into the vast ocean. "I can feel John, we are still connected from the majyyk I cast upon him before to communicate. They haven't reached the harbor yet. If we are to act we must do so now before they start to descend."

"Alright." Karkat said, Terezi focusing on him and drawing closer, the omega swallowing thickly and tilting his face away, letting out an anxious chirp when the beta placed a hand on his shoulder, and another against his chest. "Please just...promise me you'll do everything you can to save them?"

"I promise." Terezi vowed, breath teasing his rouge fur as she pressed closer, licking her fangs and focusing on his neck. "I am sorry. To draw from you gently would take too much time, time we do not have to spare. This will hurt."

Karkat whined softly, flattening his ears to his skull, Sollux reaching over instinctively and taking his hand, crooning soothingly and watching with mild concern. Terezi opened her jaws wide, posing her fangs, and then clamped down against his neck hard, a sharp scream ripping from Karkat's throat as she started to drink. Terezi kept him in place, swallowing down mouthful after mouthful while Sollux squeezed the omega's hand, trying to comfort the rouge bat as well as he could with soft croons and warbles, Karkat sobbing brokenly and clinging to Terezi's back while tightening his hold on Sollux's fingers. She drank from him until his voice quieted, his breathing slowed, and his grip on Sollux's hand and her silvery fur went limp. She pulled back a few moments later, panting and licking her bloody lips, glancing to Sollux before turning and flying quickly towards the harbor, the tawny Alpha gathering the half-conscious omega against his chest.

He looked down at Karkat, making sure he was still breathing alright before nuzzling between his ears, inhaling softly against his dark fur. The omega barely responded, a faint chirp escaping him before he quieted again, Sollux's eyes following after Terezi. He wondered if she had drawn enough from Karkat to satisfy the majyyk required to handle the oldest Megido heir. Her Time Majyyk and manipulation tactics were renown as the Handmaid's heir, and while Sollux had never fought against her he knew she would be a formidable opponent. Hopefully the Pyrope beta would prove to be formidable as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! More to come!

**Author's Note:**

> Originally Published: May 2, 2018 - Updated: July 21, 2020


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